Huntress
by sarsaparillia
Summary: It was after that day that I learned how to shoot a gun. — Sasuke/Sakura; Naruto/Hinata; NejiTenten.
1. Chapter 1

Dunno where _this_ came from…

Oh, and Ino's sexuality is a tribute to my best friend. She _adores_ Ino.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

**Dedication:**__To finally having a life again.

---

It was after that day that I learned how to shoot a gun.

It was cold, you know? That icy, wintry cold that should be illegal because it's so _biting-icy-freezing-damnit-it-hurts_ cold. That's how that night was. And I was just a kid. Six years old, and terrified of the world in general.

None of us saw it coming.

I can't really remember it now; I mean, it's been ten years. And I… I don't really _want_ to remember. I dislike thinking about it. It's not exactly the happiest of memories. That house, my mother, my father… No, not the happiest of memories.

Because, for a long time, I was happy.

But that happiness didn't _wouldn't-couldn't-shouldn't_ last.

And, in a twisted kind of way, I got lucky. My family wasn't killed by a crazed family member, not like Sasuke, or was never there at all, like Naruto. No, my family was killed by the things I hunt, the things I destroy. So I guess I got lucky, because I can _hate_ the things that killed my family. I can _kill_ the things that took my life from me.

I am a vampire hunter, and my name is Sakura.

---

Most of that night was blurry to me, looking back at it now. It was bitter cold, like I said. So cold. That's the thing I remember the most. I remember how bloody _cold_ it was.

And I remember looking up at the cloudy sky, snow falling everywhere, and thinking that normally, snow wasn't that red, so why _why-why-why-i-don't-get-it-explain-to-me-why_ was it so _red_?

I don't know how it happened. One minute we were sitting around the fire, light glinting off my mother's bright red hair, and happiness shining in my father's green eyes and we were laughing, and I _think_ we might have had company, but I really can't remember.

And then all the kids went to bed, and I remember hearing my parents murmuring softly to each other, and I was so warm and cozy, and, when you're six, parents can protect you from everything.

So I guess I fell asleep.

It couldn't have been more then a couple of hours later. My mother shook me awake, this grim look in her eyes. Now I think it was terror, horror, fear. Then, I just didn't understand why she was waking me up so early. I didn't have school the next day, so why was she waking me up when it was still dark? I didn't understand.

I remember she told me something bad was happening, and that I had to get out of the house, and that she was going to wake up my brother and sister, but I had to _go_ right _now_.

I got as far as the outside of my house, only to watch the whole thing go up in flames. There was maniacal laughter, ringing from everywhere, and I was _so scared_. I started crying, and someone came up to me.

I didn't know who it was, but they smelled of death, and I could see my mother's favorite necklace hanging from one of this person's wrists, and there was liquid dripping off this person's fingers and I wanted to get away from this person as fast as I could.

The next thing I saw was eyes. Blood-red, and insane.

"Hello, little princess" was what he said.

I just stared at him, so scared that I couldn't move.

"Ah, I'm so thirsty, and you smell so good. May I have your blood, little one? I promise it won't hurt too much."

I remember shaking my head, wanting to get as far as I physically could from this person. Obviously, he didn't want me going anywhere, and he reached down to pick me up.

But before he could get his hands on any part of me, a bullet went through his head, and he fell over sideways, away from me. My six-year-old mind immediately wanted to cry out, but then I saw where the bullet had come from.

It looked like a teenager, what my oldest brother looked like. He had white hair, goggles covering his eyes, and a mask. I couldn't see any part of his face. But _he_ didn't smell like death, and _he_ looked terrified as I felt. So I instinctively trusted him. He rushed over to me, and stood about a foot away from me.

"Did it bite you?" he asked, wary.

I shook my head, tears running down my cheeks. I wasn't wearing slippers or socks, and my feet were starting to get cold.

"Can I pick you up?" he asked, relieved.

I nodded, and as soon as he lifted me off the ground, I passed out, I suppose, because from then on, I don't have any memory. Not 'til a few days later, anyways, when I woke up, to find a purple-haired girl and the boy who saved me staring down at me, worry on both of their faces.

"Kakashi, she's waking up!" was what the girl said, and the boy nodded slowly. My vision was still a little blurry at the time, and I wasn't at all sure where I was… But I was always a stubborn child, and I tried to sit up.

That didn't work so well.

My still-blurry vision spun, and I sank back down with a pitiful mewl. The girl squeaked out an order to the boy, and he rushed off. I felt a little uneasy, strange to say, with him gone. I trusted the girl implicitly, already. She obviously cared about me, or she wouldn't be this easy to trust. I sill, to this day, think it was her hair colour that made me trust Anko so much.

But either way, another woman came rushing back in, the boy towed behind her, and she started asking me questions.

And that was how my new life started.

I found out that the boy who had saved me was Kakashi Hatake, and that he was a sniper, and that he was eighteen. The girl was named Anko Mitarashi, and she, too, was an orphan, and that she was seventeen. The woman explaining this all to me was named Tsunade, and right away, she felt like a grandmother to me. That made me happy. I'd never had a grandmother before them. I didn't understand most of it at first but (what six-year-old would?), slowly, things started to make sense.

Two weeks after that, Kakashi taught me how to hold a gun. I gulped down the knowledge, and learned quickly. It didn't take me long to learn what made a good gun, how to hold a good gun properly, how to set the trigger without blowing my fingers off. And there were accidents, like when I nearly shot Kakashi in the foot (the gun was pointed down and towards Kakashi; _never _point a gun down and towards someone else), or when I nearly blew up the kitchen (I can't cook, not gonna lie). But it could have been worse, I guess.

Anko was my stand-in mother, and Kakashi quickly took over the position of father. By the time I was ten, my blood-parents were starting to blur out of my memory. I could still remember my mother's kind smile and her red hair, and my father's booming laugh and the twinkle in his eyes, but they were faceless to me. When I had a problem with boys teasing me, I went to Kakashi, and he would straighten it out. If I had a problem _involving_ boys, I would go to Anko, and then _she_ would straighten _that_ one out.

I was happy again, you could say.

And so the years past, and I started to grow up. We moved a lot, whenever Tsunade needed us in a new location, or somewhere safer. When I turned eleven, Kakashi and Anko got married. I snorted at them only two words. "About time." Anko had rolled her eyes at me, and told me to zip up her dress before she freaked out and ran off. So I did.

Training, moving, eating, sleeping, schooling, more training. That was my life for a long time.

And now it's led me here. I'm sixteen, pink-haired, green-eyed, punked-out, and really bitchy, most of the time. Kakashi thinks it's because I'm a teenager. It's not. I'm just a bitch in general. We've moved to Konoha, and I already hate it. It's _tiny_, and I'm a big city girl. And there are… trees… _everywhere_. It's actually a little scary.

And I have to go to _school_. I've _never_ had to go to school before. It's made me a little more then pissy.

"Sakura, come on, we have to get you to school. No, what are you doing, put the knife down, killing me won't help anything! _ANKO_!!!!" Kakashi, the cheat, called my mum.

"Sorry Hatake, you're in this one on your own. _I'm_ not the one sending her to _school_!!!"

I laughed insanely, and advanced on him, the silver knife in my hand not even _close_ to hidden. I probably would have stabbed him, too, had I gotten the chance.

But he got that knife out of my hand, and he dragged me all the way to the car, shoved me in, tossed my bag in after me, and off we went.

---

It took me two minutes in the place to make the observation that it was a shit-hole, and that I hated it. Kakashi did not seem amused. And he thinks _I_'_m_ going to cause trouble. Of _course_ I'm not!

But, seriously, if someone gets too close to me, there will be _hell_ to pay. I've got two guns strapped to my thighs, knives in my boots, skirt seams, and in my wrist guards, and an entire artillery of weapons that could technically be considered illegal in my backpack.

Well. They were illegal for _citizens_.

Anyway, it doesn't matter, not right now. I have a class to get to. I looked down at my timetable, disdain written clearly all over my face, I was sure.

I was not putting up with anyone's shit today, not after dealing with Kakashi this morning. I think I had a right to do whatever the hell I wanted after _that_. The teacher could suck my metal guns for all I cared, I wasn't introducing myself.

I pushed the door to my homeroom class open, shoved the note Kakashi gave me at the teacher, and walked to the back of the room, to one of the only empty desks. The teacher raised an eyebrow, and gave me a look that said you-better-get-back-up-here-or-I'm-going-to-freak-out. Oh well. She could freak out, for all I cared about it right now. Dumb bitch.

I glared at her, and I guessed she figured that I wasn't having a good day, and she let me off the hook. Yay.

I grumbled to myself, crossed my arms on my desk, and then happily hid my face. A few minutes later, the mumbling whispers started, and I half wanted to kill myself.

Actually, no, I wanted to kill some leeches. That would make my life a lot more worthwhile and a helluvalot more interesting.

And with that, I ignored the rest of the class, and went to my happy place. Oh dear god, there were _so_ many other things I could be doing right now…

"Sakura Hatake, would you _please_ come and introduce yourself?!" Whispers broke out when she said my last name. Kakashi wasn't infamous for nothing. Weird… there was a group of kids sitting together, all of whom happened to be staring at me like I was the most engrossing thing in the entire world.

I snarled, but stood up and went to the front. Kakashi was going to be on my ass if I didn't at least make an _effort_…

"Okay, hi, I'm Sakura Hatake, I'm sixteen, I hate people, I like guns, and now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be sitting back down." So I went and sat back down.

The room was dead silent.

Damn. Now I feel like a waste of life in general. I didn't know I had the power to turn a room totally silent without even _trying_…

The teacher looked nervous. "Well, I need someone to show Sakura around for the first few days… who would be interested?"

The entire group that had been staring at me, all of their hand's shot up. The girls, anyways. The boys just seemed a little out of it. Whatever.

"Alright, Hinata, I think you'll do fine. Sakura, go sit next to Hinata, if you please."

"I _don't_ please…" I muttered to myself, but I gathered up my stuff and went and sat down next to the indicated girl anyways. I didn't want to hurt her feelings; she looked nice enough.

But seriously people, it's a tiny freakin' school. I've worked in the dirtiest streets in New York; if I can get away from blood-thirsty, crazed monsters there, I'm pretty sure I can manage to memorize a couple of hallways. Gimme a break, I'm not helpless.

Hinata smiled, and the teacher started talking about cell division in plants, and how it differed from cell division in mammals (not at all, to be quite frank), and I grumbled angrily to myself. I learned this stuff a _year and a half ago_!!! Do you _enjoy_ annoying me with pointless information?!

Hinata tilted her head, and shoved a piece of paper at me. Her writing was pretty, cursive, and I almost felt sick. My writing is chicken scratch, and I can't help but feel more then just a little bit jealous. Damn.

_Oh, so you're Sakura, huh?_

**Yeah, I guess you could say that.**

_Why're you so… mad?_

**I seriously do not want to be here, and I did this shit a year and a half ago, when I was actually interested in Biology. It had to do with my favorite thing, so I was working pretty hard on it.**

She nodded, and that was the end of that conversation. I spent the rest of the class staring at the clock, praying to god that it would be over. I went to one class Kakashi, what more do you want?!

The bell rang, and I was about to bolt. Screw it, I'd take the bus home. I was _not_ staying here… But before I managed said bolt, Hinata grabbed my wrist and held me back (life be cursed, damn, damn, damn, daaaaaaaammmmmnnnn…). Normally, I would have broken her grip, but there was something in her eyes that made me stop moving, and like a rabbit, listen.

"C'mon, let me show you something, _Hatake_."

It was the way she said my last name. She said it the way Tsunade sometimes says it, when she's really pissed off at Kakshi, or when she's trying to drive home a point.

So, against my better judgment, I let the indigo-haired girl pull me from the class, and towards a huge-ass tree not far from the campus line.

"Hold on a few, everyone'll be here in a bit."

"Everyone?" I asked, nonplussed. I totally didn't get it, what can I say?

"You know that group that we were sitting with, all the kids and that? The four girls and the six boys? Yeah, well, that's everyone."

"So _why_ am I waiting for these people, when I _clearly_ don't know them? Look, I just want to go home, kill my dad for making me go to school when I _could_ be home-schooled, and talk my mum into talking my dad into letting me go back to being home-schooled. It would make my life _so much easier_. So, may I go now?"

Hinata shook her head, and I groaned. How unfair was this?

We waited another ten minutes, and then that group of kids came up. Weird, I could the imprints of… well, things that shouldn't be on school property, hidden under every single one of their clothes.

A boy with sky blue eyes and blonde hair came bouncing up to us, and threw his arms around Hinata. She turned red, and looked a little faint. Oh, dude, she's _totally_ into him…

And he was about to throw his arms around me. Hell. Fucking. No. I had him tossed on the ground, a miniature handgun pressed into the hollow below his Adam's apple. He was _not_ going to be putting a hand on me.

He growled. "Get off of me, you crazy bitch, I haven't done anything wrong!"

I snarled, and pressed the gun deeper, before jumping off of him, and looking at the others.

They seemed unsurprised by my lightning-fast reaction.

There was a head talking.

"Nothing more then we'd expect from _Kakashi Hatake_'s only offspring and daughter. Sakura Hatake, previously Haruno, Elite Sniper, sixteen years old, pink hair, green eyes, five foot three, a hundred and twelve pounds, currently working undercover at Konoha Municipal High School, and obviously not liking it."

I glared at the talking head. He was pretty, in a twisted kind of way - dark hair, dark eyes, really pale skin, black skinny jeans, studded belt, and oh dear god, I think I'm going to faint… Do you not understand how highly attracted I am to boys in skinny jeans?! See, now _this_ was the reason Kakashi didn't want me going to ordinary school…

"How do you know I'm a Sniper?" I didn't care that he knew I was working undercover. I did care, however, that he knew my old last name. "And how do you know my old last name? That's not public information, and I suggest you tell me, and I might not kill you."

He smirked at me. How dare he?! "I know because I heard it directly from Tsunade, and she heard it from Kakashi himself. You got saved a long time ago, little girl. Don't think there's anything we _don't_ know about you."

I stared at him, my glace cool and calculating. He was pretty, yes, but there was something… unsettling at best… about him. He seemed too aloof, and there was an almost vampiric aura surrounding him. Not inherited; he was completely human, but there was… something there.

"If you know so much about me, shouldn't it be fair that I know exactly the same amount about you?"

He paused for a moment, and we both continued to glare at each other. The blonde boy who had glomped Hinata broke the silence. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, I'm seventeen, and I'm what most would call Assassination Squad One. I play heavy weight and I'm pretty fair with a set of knives, although personally, I prefer really big swords."

Hinata nodded. "Well, you already know me, Hinata Hyuuga, sixteen-"

I cut her off. "Hyuuga?"

"Yeah." She smiled slowly, dangerously. "I take you know my family, then."

"Yeah," I replied. "Intel isn't the easiest thing to manage, not gonna lie, I suck at it, and the Hyuuga family is known for being the best of the best. Your eyes are signature, then? Because it looks like you're related to White-ey over there." I nodded at another boy, with the same white eyes and dark hair.

I took another look at Hinata, before deciding something very important. 'Yup,' I thought to myself. 'She's the type that keeps whips and chains in her closet.

Hinata nodded. "That's my cousin Neji. Don't worry about him being a dick, he doesn't talk much. That's Sasuke's job."

"Sasuke?" I asked, unsure. I knew that name, Kakashi had mentioned it before, I was _so sure_ of it…

"Sasuke Uchiha, seventeen, Assassination Squad One Leader, third-to-last remaining member of the Uchiha family, youngest Squad Leader since Kakashi Hatake." The jerk from before answered my question.

"Was I talking to you? No. I was talking to Hinata. Hinata?"

"He's right."

"Damn you. So who else is here?"

A blonde girl with blue eyes who could have been Naruto's sister smiled coyly. "I'm Ino Yamanaka, and can I have your number? You're really hot."

I was just a little freaked out, and Hinata, beside me, sighed. "Ino, stop it, you're freaking her out. Could you wait until _after_ you get to know them before you ask them out?" Ino shrugged at her. Hinata glared at her. "Sorry about that, Ino's very into both sexes, and she's not afraid of letting people know. She _is_ dating someone right now though; he's sitting next to her. His name is Sai."

I nodded, calm now. I had no problem with her sexuality, now that I knew about it. It was just a little bit unnerving to have it thrown in your face like that.

Hinata continued. "And she's the best seductress we've got; her blood is irresistible to the leeches."

"Ah," was all I said. I knew how important seduction was, in the game we played. If she was good at it… whatever. Ino's boyfriend looked up, and gave me the once-over.

"Hey Ugly."

I twitched.

About ten seconds later, I was standing behind him, a gun at the base of his skull. Damn, I really had to learn how to control my temper; this was getting ridiculous!

"Don't _ever_ call me that, again," I hissed into his ear. He was totally calm, and, just to prove I could, I pulled out my second gun, and shot a perfect hole through a leaf while looking the other direction. Oh yes, I am _good_…

"Yes, Miss Ugly."

I snarled out something unintelligible, and walked back towards where Hinata was standing. They were all staring at the leaf, and then looking back at me like I was some kind of monster. Seriously people, it's _not that hard_. It just takes a _lot_ of practice.

Hinata glared at Sai. "Sai, be nice, she's going to shoot a hole in your head if you keep it up."

"Yes, Your Shyness."

Hinata fumed, and muttered under her breath "Fuck you, you asshole…"

I was very proud of her. So she _did_ have a dirty mouth, just like the rest of the world.

Another girl, this one with brown hair in two buns, raised her hand in welcome. "I'm Tenten, just a random orphan Tsunade picked up off the streets. I'm work best when it comes to quick, out of sight things. Like stealing." She grinned, and I grinned back at her. Anyone who could be so blunt would be worth talking to.

The others introduced themselves, and I came to know Shikamaru, Temari, Karin, Neji, and Suigetsu. They seemed like a bunch of kids I could probably get along with.

Karin did what I did, Sniped, and I knew without a doubt that we would get along. Apparently she was dating Suigetsu, but I didn't see _how_, as all they did was fight. Hinata whispered "They break up three or four times a week, but Karin told me the make-up sex is incredible."

Okay, _that_ was a piece of information I had _no_ desire to know.

Temari had the look of someone who was quiet, but would kill you in a second for looking at her wrong. She had a techie sort of look to her, with goggles hanging around her neck, and black wire tape around her wrist. Her blond hair was, oddly enough, up in four ponytails, and I thought 'Da-yum. The chick has balls.'

Shikamaru was the laziest person I have ever met, and that is saying something. Kakashi is my father, and he is late for _everything_, so yes, it _is_ saying something. He, too, looked the techie type, with an undertone of rebelliousness. He seemed like a pretty cool dude.

Neji was too busy staring into space, so I think he might have been a tad bit high, because not everyone can pull of that totally uncaring attitude, and I hardly said two words to Suigetsu. And that was because Karin had kicked him, and he was lying on the ground, writhing in pain.

Oka-ay then…

So I went home after that. I was not into staying at school and re-learning stuff I had learned in previous years. I complained to Anko, and she promised that she would talk to Kakashi.

But really, at the time, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.


	2. Chapter 2

I _still_ dunno where this came from, but… I deeply like it. And DUDE, this chapter is long!

**Disclaimer:** Not a snowball's chance in hell.

**Dedication:** To Dana. Hun, come home soon!!! WE MISS YOU!!!! *tears* Also to my brother, for the hermit reference.

---

I glared furiously at Kakashi.

He smiled back at me benignly.

I really wanted to murder him. Or kick him. Or something. Because honestly, I'm done with this school thing. I went for one day (okay, it was one period, but still!), and I've decided that it seriously is not worth the headache.

But he doesn't seem to want to pull me out, and go back to home-schooling me.

"Why not?!" I growled out at him. It's kind of hard to talk when you're as furious as I was. Not a good thing children, not a good thing…

"Because, Sakura, I did this for two reasons. First of all, it gets you out of the house-"

I cut him off (I do that to people a lot, don't I?) "Yeah, because you want to get laid!"

He went pink, and I knew I was right, but he continued talking anyway. "Because you _never_ leave the house Sakura, except for when you're off killing something, you're almost a hermit like that, and also because you need to learn how to deal with kids your own age."

That sentence shut me right up.

"Look, Sakura," he said, his voice gentle, "You grew up too fast. You never had a chance to be a kid, and I think you need to have a chance to at least _meet_ other kids your age. It's important, to learn how to deal with other people. I know, I know!" He held up his hands in defense. "I know you know how to deal with adults Sakura, but not with other teenagers, or kids in general. I'm hoping that this public-school-thing will give you that chance."

I grumbled, but I didn't resist anymore. Hoe could I, when all Kakashi wanted was really to keep me happy? And I could see in his eyes that he was telling the truth. He was really worried that I was going to be a hermit, only ever leaving the house to kill leeches. Damn.

I grumbled again, and went into the kitchen to find Anko. I needed her help to sort out my one-period day.

"Anko, help!" It was all I said, but I knew that she would figure it out for me. She always had, and she probably always would. I adored my mom.

"Alright hun, tell me what's up." Her voice was soft, considering she was concentrating on two different things at once, cooking an un-burned dinner (or at least saving what was left of the mess Kakashi had made, the idiot…). And trying to figure out what was wrong with my head.

"Well, there's this thing about school. Have you ever heard of the Uchiha family?"

She turned sharply towards me, a tenseness in her eyes that I didn't understand. "I take it you've met the Uchiha boy, then? Sasuke, right?"

I groaned, and nodded. "Yeah, and he's a jerk."

"Don't blame him too much sweetie, he's got a hard past."

I stiffened. How could she defend him? I needed someone to _hate_ him with me right now! "Don't we _all_ have hard pasts?! Anko, you got left on the streets to fend for yourself when you were _five_. Kakashi's mother got changed, and then his father couldn't deal with it, especially when he had to kill her, and then the man killed himself _in front of Kakashi_! My entire family was killed by leeches, but Uchiha's got 'a hard past'?!"

She turned the heat on the stove down by a couple degrees, and then turned and looked me in the eyes. I _really_ didn't like that look. It meant that she was going to give me a talking-to that I probably would never forget.

"Yes, Sakura, _Sasuke_," she said his name with some emphasis, and I winced, "has had a hard past. Think about it Sakura, you're family was killed by vampires. But at least, you got your revenge. And even now, you continue to extract your revenge, for when they tear other families apart, right?"

She paused, and I nodded. It was true, what she said.

"But Sasuke's family… they weren't murdered by vampires. Sakura, his entire family, every aunt, uncle, every grandparent, even his mother and father, they were killed by one of his own family members. And then that family member killed himself, too."

My breath caught in my throat. Okay, so maybe that _was_ a bit harsh…

"Who?" I whispered. I wanted to know. I _had_ to know. Of course, I could probably find the information on my own, but… I wanted Anko to tell me. I'm lazy, as I've already said, and I'd prefer to be told such information, rather then have to find it on my own.

"It was his uncle, hunny. The man killed every last member of the family, except Sasuke and his older brother, Itachi. The older brother… I think he's still in a comatose state at the hospital, and it's been years, now. There's little hope of him ever waking up. So you have to understand that just getting up in the morning is very hard for Sasuke, hmm?"

I nodded, a little bit sick to my stomach. Why would anyone do that to their family? Yeah, sure, there were times when I wanted to kill Kakashi, but I never actually _would_. He was far too precious to me for that. Anko answered my un-asked question.

"He was crazy, sweetie. Tsunade thinks that it was an undiagnosed form of schizophrenia, and that since he never got medicine for it, he was in a state of psychosis when it all happened. No one was at fault, but I'm pretty sure that Sasuke feels like it was _his_ fault."

"Why?" I asked, not understanding.

She shrugged. "Survivor's guilt, I suppose. Sasuke was eight Sakura, so I think his memories of the time were a little more profound then yours. And also, they affected him very differently. He didn't have a Kakashi or a me to take care of him. He just had himself, and an almost-dead older brother. Sasuke raised himself, in so many ways."

She paused, took a breath, and continued. "And then, of course, Tsunade started training him. He was like you, Sakura, because of the way he gulped down knowledge. And now, he's a squadron leader, I take it?"

I nodded again. I understood where she was going with this - she wanted me to play nice. Damn. But then, after I had heard _this_ particular story, I don't think I'd be able to be rude to him. It would just be too heartless. I'd simply ignore him. Yeah, that would be best.

"Anko, thanks. What _are_ you making, anyways?"

She grimaced. "I'm trying to save the tomato sauce that Kakashi tried, and failed miserably, to make. I'm so thoroughly disgusted with the man's cooking - I have no idea how he ever managed to live on his own. This is stuff is bad enough to be considered legally inedible, I bet you anything."

I nodded, knowing how badly Kakashi was at cooking. Something else I had inherited from him. Because, seriously, we both suck so bad at cooking. I shook my head to myself, and dashed up the stairs to my bedroom.

As usual, I did a perimeter check, to make sure nothing was disturbed, and that no one had been in here. I'm kind of nit-picky about how my room is, and I _really_ hate it when people intrude. Both Kakashi and Anko know this, so they don't some up here too much, not unless there's a real reason for it.

I pulled out the pencil lead from inside the door crack, and opened my door. As usual, I was assaulted by the white walls of the room _white-white-white-empty-white_ and I sat down on my bed. We haven't been here long yet, so I haven't had time to paint it yet.

I grimaced at the thought of dinner, and closed my eyes. I'd rather sleep then eat dinner.

But, ah. I did have to clean my guns, because I never left my guns un-cleaned. It was unhygienic. So I pulled out the wax and the oil and all the other stuff I needed to keep my babies in good shape.

Dip the rag into the oil, clean out the barrel of extra powder and leftover shit from un-shot shots. Fill the holder with powder, and re-fill the barrel. There. One down, three to go.

After I had finished cleaning my little children, I gave each of my knives a quick wipe, to make sure no leech venom was left over.

And then I pulled out my rifle.

I stared longingly at it. I _loved_ it; I still do. But then, it was my favorite gun, because it was the first one I'd ever owned, the first one I'd ever killed a leech with. So it was my favorite.

And it had been _so long_ since I'd been down to a shooting range… I could ditch dinner, go down there, and shoot some stress into the little human-shaped card-board things. That might give some relief.

I decided that I would, and after I told Anko that I was going out (she reminded me, as usual, to grab some money; I did) and that I was going to miss dinner, and that I would be back later. I didn't wait for her reply, and I was out of the house, my rifle stowed in my bag. Like I was going to let anyone see a sixteen-year-old with a gun. Please. _That_ is what fake IDs are for.

It took me ten minutes to get to the shooting range.

I sighed, annoyed, when I got there. Like everything else in this place, it was _tiny_. I wanted to pull my beloved rifle out of my bag, and shoot myself.

I flashed my ID at the gate-guy (but like he was going to stop me, I know I look older then sixteen), and went in.

First booth, second booth, third… I ended up going all the way to the end, carefully checking each level of difficulty. "Too easy…" I muttered to myself. This was the last booth, the highest level.

I had to shoot the guy in the head, while he was moving around.

Are you kidding me?! That's too simple!

Whatever.

And so, I pulled out my rifle, and put it together. It didn't take me long, but I added the silencer as an extra precaution. I didn't want people thinking I _knew_ what I was doing, jeez.

Ten and a half seconds later, I was emptying cartridge after cartridge of bullets into the little cardboard man's head. I could _feel_ the stress draining away as I repeated the action.

A half-hour later, I felt _so much better_, it wasn't even funny. I didn't realize that I had gathered a small army of followers behind me.

I was just a _little_ freaked out, to be honest. I'm not really used to people watching me when I was shooting things.

And not only that, but most of them were guys.

"Damn, this chick can _shoot_!"

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone, let alone a _girl_, do that before!"

Even the gate-guy. "Can I have your number?"

But then Hinata pushed through them, and sent them a glare. "Excuse me, but I would highly appreciate it if you would leave my bestie alone. So she can shoot a freakin' gun, better then all of you. What's so special about that?"

She grabbed my wrist, and pulled me out of there. I silently thanked her, and as soon as we were far enough away from the gaggle of boys, she hissed in my ear. "What do you think you're doing?! We have special training areas for this kind of thing; you're not supposed to be in here, anyways!"

I hissed back, because that was rude! "Hinata, calm down, I had a fake ID on me, and I didn't give my real name. And I'm not part of your little group! I shoot where I want to shoot. I could have gone to the mall, and freaked out every living being within a five-kilometer radius. But no, I went to a _shooting range_," my voice heavily laced with sarcasm. "Isn't that where one is _supposed_ to go when they want to empty a bullet cartridge into something that moves?!"

"No! I'll _show_ you where you're supposed to empty bullets into moving things. Tsunade wants to see you, anyways."

I perked up. How did she know Tsunade? "She wants to see me? How do you know my grand mum, anyways?"

Hinata shook her head, her voice still low. "She's the leader of everything we do; you know that. And since when is she your grand mother?"

"Since always. Damn, Hinata, slow down! Nothing's going to happen!"

"So the things behind us are _nothing_?!"

I almost wanted to whip me head around, but I knew what she meant. There were leeches following us.

"How many?" My voice was a dead whisper, I was sure.

"Three." Her voice, too, was nothing more then a whisper of stirred leaves. "How many shots do you have left in that gun of yours?"

"Two," I hissed, angry. Urgh. That meant I would have to get up-close-and-personal with at least one of the leeches, two if my aim was off, and _that_ was gross. I had no desire to get bitten right now. I wanted to spend the rest of my life human, thanks, I would appreciate it.

Hinata gulped, and I chuckled darkly. "Don't worry Hinata, I'm not totally unprepared for things like this. I may be not as good in close-up-and-personal situations, but I make do. What about you, do you fight at all?"

She shook her head. "No, Father always said it was unladylike. Neji's the one trained in combat. I'm not helpless, but I'm not very good in areas like this."

"Damn," I murmured. "Whatever you do, _stay behind me_. Have you ever seen the death of a leech?"

She shook her head no, again.

"Well then, I suggest you prepare yourself mentally. I kind of let go when I'm fighting these things, and Kakashi said I look… less then human when it happens. So don't worry, just stay behind me."

Hinata nodded, and we sped up. I needed to get out of the public eye - didn't want people to see me kill someone else, and then have that person turn into dust, right before them. Damn, this could be difficult…

There, I saw our savior. A small alleyway, darkened because of the two buildings on either side of it. Good, that would make my life a hell of a lot easier. I tugged on Hinata's arm, and said in a normal voice "Hinata, this way's faster, and I'm cold. I want to get home!"

She looked confused, but she went along with me when I gave her the follow-me-if-you-want-to-live-and-don't-make-a-fuss-about-it look. "Alright Saku, I'm cold, too."

Leeches hate the sun. How could I have not noticed that?! The clouds were out today, not a ray of sun anywhere. It sucked balls. Normally, on a day like this, I would have stayed in bed.

I pulled Hinata into the alley, keeper her a little bit ahead of me. The three leeches followed us in, thinking we didn't hear them. Stupid. Never underestimate an opponent.

Once we were a good ten yards in, I whipped around and drew my gun, throwing Hinata a few meters behind me in the process. I didn't want her to have to join this fight; I could take care of myself, and anyone else around. It was how I was raised, and that's not going to change now.

The leeches looked surprised, and I sneered at them.

"Hello there, bloodsuckers."

They hissed softly at me, and the fact that I was holding a rifle.

"Now, I was wondering. Why were you following me and my friend here, huh? Not for a meal, surely. Don't you know it's bad to prey on little girls? Didn't your mother teach you anything?"

"Pink hair…" the first one said, deep red eyes lingering on my hair, my eyes, my chest, and everything from the waist down. I wanted to gouge his vile eyes out, just for looking at me.

"Hatake's girl, no doubt." The second one, the one in the middle, his voice was soft, silky, and, I hate to say it, he was hot. Dark magenta hair, the same wine-red eyes as the first, long and lithe. Thankfully, it wasn't my type of hot. He wasn't wearing skinny jeans.

"Isn't there a bounty on her?" The third one, too, was just a little overly pretty. Blonde hair, long and loose, burgundy eyes.

I smiled viciously at them. "Yes, in the leech community, there is. I think I've killed enough of you to warrant it. So, how about we up the ante? Because my kill list is about to get an extra three black marks on it."

I cocked my rifle, held it up to my eye, and shot the first one in the head. He made that disgusting gargling sound they all make before they die, and then he crumpled to the ground, only to turn into dust. Good. One down, two to go.

It was immediate, the reaction. One of them howled, the blonde one, and the other charged. I didn't have _time_ for this. I pulled out the knife from my left wrist guard, and dashed out of the way. I slammed said knife into the blonde one's neck, and he made the gargling sound.

But I had forgotten one thing.

_Hinata_.

The second one stood there, using her body as a shield, the bastard. I snarled, and just as I did, he let his tongue snake up her neck. Oh, god no, this was _not_ going to happen, I was _not_ going to _let_ it happen…

"Let her go." I fought to keep my voice in that icy, even tone Kakashi used when fighting leeches, and I kept my gun trained on his head.

"And if I don't?" He seemed smug about something.

"Then I'll riddle your head with bullet holes, understand? One is all it takes."

"She smells good, you know. Almost as good as you do, little princess."

Why did those words strike a chord within me? Where had I heard that nickname before? Little princess, little princess _mummy-i-don't-understand-why-do-they-call-me-that-i-don't-get-it-help_…

"Let. Her. Go. _Now_." I didn't even have to fight to keep my voice icy anymore. It was a hundred degrees below zero on its own, anyways.

"How about I make a proposition then, little princess?"

I snarled, but answered "It better be fucking good, or bad things will happen."

"I'll let this one go, and you let me live."

"You'll only stab me in the back as soon as I turn around."

"No, I won't."

"You're a liar."

"That may be true, but you'll never know, right?"

I don't think he expected what I did next. I shot him in the leg. He dropped Hinata with an angered hiss, and made to attack me. I didn't have to worry, because I just grabbed her, and dragged her out of there. I called over my shoulder to the piece of trash.

"I let you live, didn't I?"

And I kept running. I didn't stop until we got back to the house, and Hinata was shaking in my grip. Poor girl, I had to get her to Anko straight away, or she might come out of this really traumatized…

"_ANKO!!!_" I screamed as soon as I got in the door.

She came rushing over, took one look at Hinata and I, and called Kakashi to help her. He took me, and she took Hinata, and I was pretty sure he drugged me, because I had no energy in me left to fight him. It was really weird.

And I fell asleep, for a bit.

I didn't wake up until the next morning. I ran down the stairs, and found, to my surprise, that Hinata was still there. She smiled weakly at me, and I winced.

"I think I owe you one." The girl's voice was soft, and I looked at her like she'd gone nuts.

"Are you crazy? I shouldn't have put you in that situation. I lost my head; I'm used to fighting alone. I think I owe you an apology, at the very least."

She shook her head. "No, Sakura, you don't owe me anything. You made me realize how easy it is to become prey." She stopped, a fierce look in her eyes. "I want you to train me. Maybe not to be as good as you are, but enough that I can hold my own. I don't want to be a burden."

I blinked, taken aback. She wanted me to… train her? I'd never trained anyone before. It wasn't that I _couldn't_, it was more like I didn't know _how_, and I explained this to her.

"It doesn't matter Sakura. Even if you just improve my aim, even a little. I'll be better off, I swear."

I couldn't refute that; if everyone had good aim and a good gun, and then there would be no leeches left in the world. So I suppose I decided right then and there that I would train her, to make her stronger in some areas. It could be anything, but she wasn't going to be helpless, not after I was finished with her.

"Alright then, Hinata, we start tomorrow."

She smirked. "If you're training, me, then you're going to have to stick around and go to school. I can't miss class, and you shouldn't either."

I turned to Kakashi, sitting quietly in a corner, enraged. "You put her up to this, didn't you, you evil bastard!"

He just smiled benignly, and I _really_ wanted to kick him.

---

I watched Hinata slam twin arm-length knives into the wooden dummy we were training with some satisfaction. Hinata was _strong_, and I was, unsurprisingly, quite proud of her. She learned quickly, made little fuss of any bumps, bruises or cute she got (she bandaged them, and went back at it, determination flaring in her eyes), and she never complained, not even once, about how much work it was.

She obviously wanted to learn, and I was surprised at her father, in an odd kind of way. Who cared that it was unladylike? Hinata had raw talent, and I had a feeling that, put to the right use, that raw talent would make her an excellent and efficient hunter, not to mention her determination would probably make her one of the best of the best, in whichever field of hunter she could choose.

But seriously, this was getting ridiculous. She had been killing dummy after dummy, for more then three hours now. She needed to take a break, or she was going to pass out. It had happened to me before and I'm not going to lie, it's not pleasant. Over-training yourself is the worst thing a person can do.

"Hinata! Take a break, or I'm going to feel neglected!" I called to her.

She stopped, mid-slam, and whipped her head around to look at her, her breath heavy as she replied "H-how long have I been going at this?"

I tilted my head, pursed my lips and answered her honestly. "Three hours, twenty-six minutes, and forty-eight seconds. You gotta stop before you pass out."

She nodded, still trying to catch her breath. I shook my head, and congratulated myself on being correct, once again. She was running solely on adrenaline now, and that was bad. I didn't want her keeling over on me or anything serious like that.

So I don't want to get sued, is that such a problem? Nor do I want a human death on my hands. It causes too many problems.

She came and sat down beside, and I wordlessly offered her a cup of Anko's herbal energy-replenishing iced-tea.

She downed it before I had a chance to warn her. The stuff is seriously nasty. And, as such, I got to enjoy the look of utter revulsion that crossed her face. It was epic, and that is all I have to say.

I smirked at her. "And _that_ is what you get for drinking something without checking it first. Honestly Hinata, know you nothing? It could have been poisoned!"

She glared at me, furiously blinking the pained tears out of her eyes. Yes, it _is_ that nasty. And not only that, sugar makes it useless. Or, that's what Anko says, at least. I have a sneaking suspicion that she might be lying, because _she_ can drink it without wincing, and not even Tsunade can do that.

Also, I think she enjoys my and Kakashi's (and now Hinata's) pain. Actually, I think she just enjoys pain in general. Evil bitch.

A few minutes later (after the taste in Hinata's mouth would have receded), she looked at me again, her expression contemplative, this time.

I didn't like that look. It spelled trouble, to me.

"Sakura, can I show you headquarters? I'm pretty sure you'd like it; it's not like anything you'll have ever seen before."

I looked at her skeptically. "It's probably tiny, just like the rest of this place," I muttered.

She half-smiled. "There's a reason Konoha is so small. HQ extends all the way underneath the entire city, in almost all direction."

I stared at her, shocked. My mouth was hanging open, I think. I mean, it's not everyday you find a place like that. Oh please, don't tell your not shocked and a little weirded out, too. It's _really_ not normal!

Hinata shrugged, and sustained her earlier sentiment. "I know, it's a little much. But may I bring you there? The entrance is an old, abandoned building downtown, right near where those vampires nearly got us yesterday, actually." She paused for a second, and her eyes widened a little ,as if she'd just come to a realization of some sort.

Apparently, she had. "That's what they're looking for."

My breath caught in my throat for the second time in two days (why is this happening to me?!), at the look on her face. _That_ couldn't be any good…

She continued. "They're looking for the HQ entrance. But… why?" She looked to me for an answer, and I gave her the most obvious one I could think of.

"Maybe, just maybe because they want to kill us all while we're asleep?" I'm pretty sure she missed the sarcasm of the statement, because she nodded absently. "We have to get this to Tsunade _right now_. We need to vampire-proof HQ _right away_."

I gave her an incredulous look. "You mean to tell me that it's _not_ leech-proof _now_?!"

She shook her head. "Oh, it is, but we should still check all the openings and that. It's not safe to leave something like that out in the open." She stood up, and dragged me along with her, ready to go right away.

"Uh… Hinata?" I asked, amused. "Shouldn't you put some clothes on, before we go?"

She looked down at herself, turned bright, crimson red, and dashed off to find a shirt.

---

Hinata dragged me along, her hand tugging impatiently at my arm. I was perfectly content to go slowly, because this particular trip out into the cold was completely against my will.

But, this time I wasn't playing the martyr. I had two hand guns, both full of bullets, and silver throwing knives with, for lack of a better word, magic embedded in the blades. I was never making such a stupid mistake in my life, ever again. I continued to berate myself silently for a little longer, because it _never_ should have happened.

I continued to brood to myself, still paying attention to where Hinata was leading us. It would not do to forget this route.

Hinata stopped at a shack that should legally have been torn down a long time ago, and knocked out a pattern on what could have been a door (I _think_…?). Three hard knocks, a pause of two seconds, and open-palm slap, another pause, then another two slaps. I had already committed the location of this place to memory, so I thought I might as well memorize this, too. What the hell, right?

A slot in the thing-that-could-have-been-a-door-at-one-point-in-history (seriously, it looked like it had been beaten on for hours and hours) opened, and a deep voice issued from within. It asked Hinata who she was and what she wanted. She answered honestly, something clicked as it was unlocked, and the entrance-cover (I will not call it a _door_, no I will not) swung inwards.

We both climbed through it, her before me, and then my world went black as it swung shut behind me.

I was paralyzed until, a second later, a light flickered to life, bathing the room in an eerie half-glow.

I looked up, and I saw Tsunade, looking exactly as she had for as long as I could remember, blonde hair in long pigtails, amber eyes dangerous and flashing and _so tired_, and boobs bigger then the entire world.

She stared at me for a second, and I stared back at her, and everything was silent.

And then she threw her arms around me, and I felt like crying. How could I have forgotten how important Tsunade was to me? I hugged her back for a bit (which really meant I let her cling to me while I patted her awkwardly on the back…), and then I gently pried her vice-grip off my body a few minutes late. I'm not normally a hugging-type of person. It's not my style.

And then I looked her straight in the eyes, and I said "Tsunade, what's going on?"

She smiled sadly at me, took a deep breath, and said, in that icy tone Kakashi so favors, "We have a problem, Sakura, and I need you to help me fix it."

I blinked up at her, shocked. Tsunade _never_ needed my help; she said she didn't like putting such a young kid in such dangerous positions, not that that stopped Kakashi before, but usually, she'd ask my foster-father, or Anko, or Genma, or Shizune, or any of the other adults. But not me. Never me.

Wild hope raged in my chest, and she smiled her signature half-smile at me. "A day and a half ago, you exorcized two vampires, not far from here," I rolled my eyes when she said 'exorcized'. Killing a leech is killing a leech, no matter how you look at it. She ignored my eye-roll, and continued. "A third survived, using Hinata Hyuuga as a hostage." Hinata gulped softly behind me, but Tsunade smiled kindly at her.

I, however, could see the twitch in her left eye. I took it for granted that she was _just_ as annoyed at Hinata's father as I was, for not training Hinata. Was the man insane?! _The girl has talent, you numbskull_!!!

Tsunade gave me a crow's shrug, knowing where my thoughts were. "That third vampire has been identified as an S-class, the one known as 'RedCard'. He's known for his liking of young, innocent, _pure_ girls." She stopped to let that sink in, and I bared my teeth at nothing in particular. Because, honestly, I _hate_ guys like that.

"Many of the deaths attributed to rape, are, in fact, his doing."

She paused again, and I knew where she was going with this. She wanted me to find the bastard, and kill him. I nodded. There was nothing to it. Just another assassination. That's all they ever were.

"Who are we using for bait? Ino?" I asked, remembering what Hinata had said about Ino's blood being irresistible.

A familiar, cocky, hated, jerky baritone issued from the shadows behind Tsunade. "Hello, little princess."

I ground my teeth, at both the sound of his voice, and the nickname he had oh-so-kindly bestowed upon me. How dare he call me that, how dare he?! Didn't he know what those words _were_ to me?! 'Don't hate him, don't hate him, don't hate him, he's just bitter, don't hate him…' I chanted to myself, trying to keep my temper in check.

Sasuke Uchiha smirked at me, and murmured "You, princess. We're using you."


	3. Chapter 3

Well, I've a horrid grounding. But, as I once again have net access… Well, let's get this going, shall we?

HAS ANYONE ELSE SEEN BLEACH?! OMIGOD!!!!

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

**Dedication:** To my Ronnie-nee. How I love you, darling.

---

I gaped at him. There was no way. Just no way. He had to be lying. I kept myself calm, totally ignored him, and turned to look at Tsunade. I kept my 'business-face' on (everyone has one; for me, it's eyes-closed-nose-in-air-head-held-high); it's something I do whenever I'm in the presence of something (or in this case, some_one_ particularly disgusting).

"Tsunade, he's lying, I know, so could I have the mission briefing?"

I opened my closed eyes, and found her wincing at me.

_That_ couldn't be good…

"Tsunade… can I have the mission briefing? Please?"

"Sorry Sakura, sweetie, he's not lying. You're our best bet at killing this thing."

I blinked, stunned. I had never been bait, not once in my entire life. This could not be happening. This _is not happening_. I stayed stock still for a moment, before I turned and glared at Uchiha (I refuse to call him by his given name. So there, asshole), and I tried not to lose it.

Okay, that's a lie.

I lost it. I totally lost. I spent the next ten minutes screaming my lungs out at him. I think I called him every single rude thing I could possibly think of (and that's a lot, considering I speak twelve languages fluently) and I stopped after that, breathing deeply. Honestly, it's hard to scream for that long without breathing.

When I looked up at Uchiha again -fourteen seconds later; you learn to catch your breath pretty damn quick in this job- he looked as mixture of shocked and amused, damn him. But the shock made up for the amusement, because I was pretty sure he had understood every word I'd said, and, damn, I was proud of myself.

So, Anko's dirty mouth has actually had a good effect on me, despite Kakashi's warnings that I was going to be a terror to behold when I was older. So there Kakashi, I'm not a terror.

I'm a horror. There's a difference. A small, but important difference. I mentally stuck my tongue out at him.

This whole thought process took less then ten seconds. And then I heard that hated voice again, and I wanted to smash his head into the floor. Is that normal? Seriously, it's not normal to want another human to _die_ so much! "Hey princess, chill."

I fumed. "Fuck you, asshole. Sorry Tsunade, I need to get out of here, I'll get the mission briefing after. C'mon Hinata."

I stomped out, tossed the shitty-thing-that-used-to-be-a-door out of my way, and stood in the cold, icy bright sunlight-covered-by-clouds.

Hinata was right behind me, and I wanted to hate myself for a second because Hinata really shouldn't be here; she's still half-human, still hasn't had her heart ripped out and shredded on the ground, and I never want to see that happen to her but… but she's the closest thing I have to a friend.

And I think I need a friend right now.

"Hinata, I'm sorry, maybe you should go back inside…"

She shakes her head furiously at me, and we stomp off together. Stomping makes me feel better, not gonna lie. I stare straight ahead, and I only flick my eyes towards Hinata when she speaks. "Wanna go empty bullets into moving things that explode?"

"_Hell. Fucking. Yes._"

So we go to the arcade.

And we blow shit up for a good two and a half hours. We both felt better afterwards, too, because we went back to my house and consumed enough cookie dough to even make Anko sick (this is saying something; Anko can eat more cookie dough then anyone I know. As it was, I was going to have to replenish her stash. We'd eaten it all).

Strangely enough, neither of us was very sick. We shrugged at each other, went back to the arcade, and blew more shit up for another hour.

Death and destruction, apparently, make the two of us feel better. Lovely. I turned to Hinata and told her that. "We're a fucked up pair, aren't we?"

Hinata nodded, but said nothing. She was concentrating on blowing off the heads of a couple of zombies right at that moment, so I don't blame her. But still. Killing zombies is fun. It's like killing leeches, only better, because zombies are only after brains.

Leeches are after a helluvalot more then brains.

But it didn't matter, because Hinata had just beaten the high score, and I cheered. This training had really given the girl good aim. I'd never thought of this before - train her by letting her kill evil things.

I pulled her out of there pretty quickly after that though, because the creepy arcade guy who had been hitting on us for most of the day had decided to try for another round. I shake my head to myself. Dude needs to get laid.

"Hina, let's go home. We'll eat more cookie dough. And maybe ice cream."

Hinata nodded with a grin, and off we went.

But, sadly, it was not to be. Because half-way there we came across another leech, this one about to feed, on a girl with wide eyes and short brown hair. Its fangs were inches from her neck, and I reacted instinctively.

I pulled a sharp silver knife (it's actually not the silver that harms them. It's a magic of sorts, and I suck at imbuing it into the precious metal. Silver is used because they react together so easily. Anyways, off topic…) out of my boot and threw it at the leech's head.

It didn't miss, embedding itself deeply in the thing's neck. The leech let out a howl of pain, and dropped the chick. She scrambled as far as she could get away from it, but that wasn't very far. This was bad, because her lip was cut -I guess she had bitten through it- and all of us could smell her blood.

This was both very bad and very good, because it sent the thing into a feeding frenzy. Bad, because it would be a little crazier, desperate to get to her blood. Good, because it would be easier to kill.

I dashed out of the way of one of the thing's wild swings, and got behind it. It didn't take me long to put a hole through the thing's head, and I watched in satisfaction as it burst into flames and turned to salt. I hate them, the evil bastards.

The girl was shaking and Hinata and I managed to pull her up. We both looked at her, and then looked at each other. "Let's take her to HQ, they'll have to erase her memory. We don't want this little incident getting out, do we?"

"Nah, not really, that might cause problems."

So the two of us lugged her unresponsive body back to the crappy-thing-that-at-one-point-in-history-may-have-been-a-door-but-should-have-been-condemned-years-ago opening, and in we went.

I twitched as soon as we got in, because the whole it-went-darker-then-the-pits-of-hell thing happened again, and it was really starting to get annoying. And not only that, I _already_ have a grudge against this place. Bah.

And who was there but my worst nightmare? Jezus fuck, does he follow me or something? "Well, well, well, look who's back, the little princess and her servant. Do you need something princess?"

Hinata went red at his words, from embarrassment, or from fury, I wasn't sure. It didn't matter either way; she was going to castrate him for that comment, and I mentally cheered. "I need Tsunade, dumbshit, we just caught a leech trying to feed of this chick. Can you get her please, or will I let Hinata loose on your balls?"

He sauntered out of the room, so calm, so cool, that I wanted to _kill_ him. How dare he be so rude?!

Tsunade came rushing in a moment later, and took the still-trembling girl out of our grip. This was of course, after she had tossed me the mission briefing (I didn't want to kill my self at all!), and she basically ordered me to get out of there and take Uchiha with me. I guess she needed Hinata's help with the girl, or she just might have been trying to set me and Uchiha up.

I think the latter is far more likely, to my utter disgust. Blah.

"So princess, where are we off to?" You know, the boy personifies the saying 'he was cute until he opened his mouth.' I mean honestly, gimme a break here! There's only so much stupidity and jackass-ery I can take before I scream!!!

"_We_ are not going _anywhere_. _I_ am going home."

He shrugged, nonchalant and so, so, arrogant. "Cool, I'll come. I want to see Kakashi anyways." Her smirked then, and I wanted to slap the smirk off his face. But I didn't, as I have some measure of control. Although, considering, I think I have the right to let that control snap…

---

I hate men.

Honestly, I do. Because you know what? The first thing that happened, as soon as we got in the house, was that Uchiha made himself at home. He flopped down on _my_ favorite couch (the ugly orange one that I will _never_ allow Anko to throw away), picked up _my_ favorite book (In The Forests Of The Night, by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes), and basically told me to find him some food.

"Isn't it polite to offer a guest food?"

I sneered at him. "You are not a guest. You a human leech, here to torment me, because I can't exactly kill you without compromising my morals. And I already hate your guts. So please leave. Kakashi and Anko will be home soon, and really, if you want to die, go ahead, stay, but _get off my couch_."

He shifted on the cough, sent me a cocky grin, and said "I'll take my chances. Food?"

"Fuck you, get it yourself," was all I said in reply, and I went upstairs to my bedroom, and slumped on my bed in collective exhaustion. I could be eating ice cream with Hinata right now! But then, that girl would have died, or she might have ended up another leech.

And none of us want that.

Because innocent people die on a regular basis to feed those things, and it isn't fair. And because of that, we have bases in every large city in the world, so that the leech population is always under control. 'It's a constant war', Kakashi once told me, 'but that's okay, because we're saving innocent people from a death that none of them deserve. We may not be gods, but we can damn well try.'

I was seven, when he told me that, and the words have always stayed with me. I dunno why, but it reminds me that I _am_ human, and that I'm doing something good, and that killing other humans is, in a way, the worst thing you can do.

It's also the only reason I'm not down in my kitchen, killing Uchiha because he's in my territory, the bastard.

So I pushed myself up off my bed, and forced myself to go back downstairs. I may not be able to cook, but I'm sure Uchiha can manage without me. I just wanted to make sure he didn't burn the house down, so I grabbed the fire extinguisher on the way down. Yes, we have a fire extinguisher in the house, as neither Kakashi nor I can do anything that could be considered cooking, Anko makes sure there's always one nearby. Sigh.

And I'll be damned if this house burns down, so off we go.

I slip into the kitchen, and found, to my utter horror, that Uchiha was well on his way to cooking up a batch of eggs and tomatoes, and he seemed to be doing just fine. I gaped at him. No. No way, are you serious?! He can _cook_ better then me?! The dude is a chick in a dude's body!

This is not fair!

He turned around when he heard me step into the kitchen, keeping one eye trained on what he was doing, obviously checking to see if I had a knife in my hand to kill him or not.

"You can _cook_?!" My voice ripped through a half-octave on the last word as it broke. Damn.

He turned back to his cooking. "I lived by myself for a long time, princess, so yes, I can cook. Can't you?" A cruel smile accompanied the last sentence, and I clenched my fists, heard the mission briefing in my hand crumple, and quickly relaxed them.

"Nah, I can't cook worth shit. I was too busy perfecting my aim to learn how." I smirked at him, because it was true. I _had_ been too busy making my aim as perfect as it could be to learn how to cook, despite Anko's continuous griping about the fact that I was never going to make a good housewife, and therefore never get married, and therefore never give her grandchildren.

Well. I wasn't going to get married because, let's face it; no one will meet my standards. No one. So I'm a little bit picky about the guys I like, sor-ry.

And just as he was about to retort, Kakashi came in the front door, his nose probably in the air, following the scent that had probably hit him in the face as soon as he'd come in the house. "Tomato eggs? Is that what I smell? SAKURA, IF YOU'RE COOKING-"

Uchiha called over his shoulder to my papa, the jerk. "Hey Kakashi, long time, no see. No, the princess _isn't_ cooking, like I'd let _that_ happen." I growled at this statement, and Kakashi burst out laughing as he came into the kitchen.

"Hello Sasuke, how have you been?"

They chatted aimlessly for a few minutes, and I gaped at them. How could Kakashi be carrying on a conversation with this kid?! The kid was Beelzebub personified! And that takes talent, because not even _I_ can personify the Devil's only son, for fuck's sake.

And then Anko came in, and I though I was saved.

She squealed, and threw her arms around Uchiha. Kakashi chuckled as the currently-being-attacked-boy gasped for air. I smirked to myself. Maybe Anko _was_ going to kill him for me. But no. She just continued to hug the life out of him for another half-minute, and then she said "Sasuke, how are you? We haven't seen you since you were just tiny!"

Kakashi laughed again, and gently pried my mother off the now-blue-ish-coloured boy. "Anko love, I think you're strangling him. And I think the eggs might be starting to burn."

She blinked, and said "Oh," before jumping off him, and gave Uchiha the time to save the eggs.

This all happened while I continued to gape at the three of them, because this was seriously _not normal_. They were acting like they'd known him his entire life. But, if that _was_ the case, then how come I'd never met him before? What the hell, right?

"Can I have an explanation, here?" My voice was still way higher then normal. Damn, damn, double damn…

Anko half-smiled at me, and gave me one of her looks of doom (every mother has one; mine just happens to be terrifying. Gulp), and then said "Sakura, the first time you ever met him, you were unconscious. It was right after Kakashi found you."

"What?" I was still bewildered.

"Your mother and his mother were best friends, you know? And they were like older sisters to me, which is why I was so bloody determined to take care of you. I probably would have taken Sasuke in, as well, but he said, little eight-year-old that he was, that he'd rather live on his own."

No, I didn't know, but Anko was holding something back, and I'm sure it was important, but there was nothing I could do to make her tell me until both Kakashi and Uchiha left. Kakashi's kind of protective of Anko like that.

But the two of them, Kakashi and Uchiha, seemed to be getting along well. Damn. But it didn't matter. I had to check the mission briefing that was still clutched in my hand, and that meant… urgh, that meant Uchiha.

"Uchiha, we have to go over this mission briefing, because I'm the proper mood to destroy evil things. So can we get on with it?"

He glared at me, and a happy warmth crossed my chest. I so love annoying people.

---

I hate this time of day.

Somehow, the sky got bright, and all the clouds are gone, and I _really_ want to kill myself. I stuck next to a blood bar (that's what I call bars that are set only for leeches - ew), wearing a short, short skirt, a slutty top, and heels as high as the sky. I DO NOT DRESS LIKE THIS. EVER. NO. I REFUSE.

Well, all of my mental bitching didn't really do anything, because I was still next to the blood bar, and I was still wearing the slut clothes. Sigh. But I had a little things in my ear, and Uchiha's voice was crackling through it.

"_Don't. Move_. It's on your left, about ten meters away, and it's closing in fast," was all his voice hissed out. I clenched my teeth, but I didn't move. As much as I hated to say it, Uchiha knew what he was doing, but if I got bitten, _bad things_ would happen to him.

"Three… two… one… Princess, _move_!" It was still bright out, but I jumped out of the way anyway.

And there was the leech from before. He looked the same, his eyes wild and red, and urgh, he was still somehow hot. Why?! I pulled out my rifle (it had been sitting in a lovely, unseen nook right behind me), and I shot him neatly in the shoulder.

Yay for perfect aim!

But, shit, I wasn't paying attention, and the thing's claws ripped through my arm. I hissed, because, seriously, it was not a pleasant thing. Damn, that's going to scar.

I jumped back, and kept my arm elevated in the easiest way. But even as I did it, something blew past me, faster then any normal human could see. Oh, come _on_!

I kept my rifle trained on the leech's head. No, this was not happening, Uchiha was _not_ saving me. But there he was, silver knife plunged into the leech's head, blood and brains spewing everywhere.

I wrinkled my nose in disgust. Yummy.

I looked up at him, to tell him off for jumping in when I was _clearly_ going to kill the thing, and was shocked to see his eyes. They were wild and scared, and I wasn't sure where that had come from. Was he worried about me? I looked again, to make sure, because it just seemed so _weird_. No, they were his normal eyes, cold as ice and dead, but he looked a little ticked off. I mean, his was… twitching.

Oh, dear, he doesn't look at all happy with me…

"You. Stupid. Bitch." Nope, not happy at all. "You could have been _killed_, and then _I_ would have had to deal with a very pissed off Kakashi. Do you have _any_ idea what that's like?!"

I glared at him, suddenly furious (this may have been due in part to the fact that I was still bleeding all over the place), but I kept my voice cool. "Oh, I've never seen the man angry, not even once. Of course I haven't, even though I've lived with him basically my _entire_ life." I was quite proud of my sarcasm, thank you very much.

He glared back at me, and we stood there glaring at each other while I was bleeding like crazy, and we probably would have continued glaring at each other had Hinata's voice not sounded from my hip.

"Sakura, Sasuke, are you both alive?"

I growled soundlessly, picked up my walkie-talkie-advanced-thing and muttered into it "Well, I'm alive, and so is Uchiha, but considering that I'm going to rip his head off, you should tell Tsunade that only I lived, despite the cuts and bruises that I've got going."

I could _feel_ her eye-roll. "No killing humans Sakura, you know the rules. And what was that about cuts and bruises? Hurry up and get out of there, you need to write a report. And tell Sasuke that Naruto's treating the three of us to ramen." And this time, I could feel her _blush_. It's about bloody time, too.

"Right, well, I'll tell his. His body, anyways." I smirked and turned the thing off, but not before I heard Hinata groan. Poor Hina, she tried so hard, and I try so… not hard. Blah.

I grabbed the edge of my shirt, and was about to rip it. I really needed some bandage, or I was going to bleed out, and _that_ would be bad. Instead, I heard ripping from behind me, and I looked up to see Uchiha holding out some torn cloth. I grabbed it, and wrapped it around the slash on my arm with a wince. I am _no good_ at fixing myself up. Damn.

I sent Sasuke one last furious glare, and then I spoke. Naruto's taking us out for ramen. Well, actually, he's taking Hinata out for ramen. You and I are ditching out."

His eyes went wide, and an undignified squeak exited his mouth. Obviously, he didn't like the idea of giving up free food. I laughed at him. "It's for a good cause, dipwad. Have you _seen_ the way they look at each other?"

He stared at me blankly.

I let out an exasperated sigh, and muttered to myself about male stupidity. "They adore each other, dumb shit, and I want them to have some time to themselves. You can come and help me spy."

He continued to stare at me blankly.

I growled. "Look, I'll buy onigiri for you on the way, to make up for it. You're a big baby, aren't you, yes you are!" My voice ended on a high-pitched coo, and I had an insane urge to pinch his cheeks. But my sanity won over and quashed the urge, thank god. Actually, I think it was my survival instinct that quashed _that_ particular urge. I have a sneaking suspicion that he might have actually ended my life, had I let the urge take over.

His lips quirked up at the corners, and the urge returned, this time twice as strong. Damn. I managed to grind out "Don't smirk like that, I'll start maybe, possibly liking you."

He smirked a little wider, and I couldn't resist. God, even looking back on that particular moment is _painful_… I gave into the urge. How could I have been so bloody stupid?

I pinched his cheeks, like that crazy aunt that the entire family is somehow both afraid of, and not sure if she's even related. And then I giggled out "Awwwwww, you're _so cute_!" Yes, I giggled. I'm never going to live it down.

After this brief interlude of temporary insanity, he and I stared at each toher, not sure whether to be shocked, or to start laughing like maniacs. I dropped my arms to my sides, and muttered "Sorry, temporary bout of insanity. It happens."

He shrugged. "It happens."

And then the cheek-pinching incident was grabbed, shoved into a tiny box, locked with a key and three padlocks, shoved into a second box, which was once again locked, and was then shoved under the bed, never to be spoken of again. Which was good, because that was what I wanted, right? Right.

But that doesn't mean I managed to stop my cheeks from flaming the colour of cherry tomatoes. Damn. Damn. I attributed the red cheeks to the momentary insanity. Daouble damn.

---

Once we got back to HQ, Sasuke (since when did he become Sasuke, huh?) and I gave Tsunade our report, and I got bandaged up properly (I also got changed out of the slut clothes, thank the lord…). I hate mission debriefings, they take so bloody long. And then the two of us went to find Naruto and Hinata.

It didn't take us long, to be honest. Sas-Uchiha knows Naruto's favorite ramen place, and I knew that Hinata would be wherever Naruto was, swooning her poor, signature eyes out.

"How're we gonna manage to ditch out?" I asked, more to myself then to him.

He shrugged in response to my rhetorical question. He didn't think that the spying thing was necessary. To him, I supposed at the time, free food was free food. I shook my head to myself. Boys are _so weird_.

"C'mon idiot. The free onigiri are on the condition that you help." Oh, that perked him up a bit…

"Why don't you just hide in the bushes?"

I glared at him. "I am in no mood to hide in bushes. It's not my style. And you're coming with me, you douche. I can't do this all on my own."

He shrugged again, but said nothing. He must have noticed the weird way people were staring at us. I don't blame them; I mean, Uchiha and I are a weird pair.

He's the most black-and-white person I've ever met; black skinny jeans (yumm… I love boys in skinny jeans… or haven't I said that already?), black t-shirt, black-with-red-stitching over-shirt (shut up, I observe everything that closely), black hair, black eyes, white skin. Seriously, the kid could be the perfect traditional leech. Wow. And then there's me.

I sigh as I see myself in my mind's eye. Pink hair, green eyes, an overly large assortment of silver rings, dark blue skinny's, a blood red tank top, and one of Kakashi's old leather jackets that I 'inherited' (read: stole without the old perv knowing; he's still looking for this one, actually), and bright red high tops.

Yup, a mismatched pair. Gimme a break, I know I belong on the Island of Misfit Toys, okay?! And don't insult that refernce, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is the best freakin' Christmas movie in the history of the world.

He grumbled as I pulled him along. Jeez, the boy is totally useless. Not to mention catatonic. Oh, screw it, he's coming whether he likes it or not, and I'm not dragging him, because that takes way too much work.

So I kicked him in his catatonic shin, and was pleasantly surprised to feel satisfaction swarm over me.

He yelped and glared at me, but I just smiled at him, the satisfaction nearly overwhelming. "Don't mess with me right now, Uchiha, I'm in a pissy mood because of that leech. How dare it try to change me?!"

Just thinking about this topic set me off, and I spent the next portion of the trip ranting about leeches and guns and Tsunade and leeches and guns and guns and leeches and guns. I like guns. I _really_ like guns.

And I _really_ dislike leeches. But considering how much time I've spent bitching about it, I'm sure Uchiha knows. We continued in this vein, me bitching, him rolling his eyes but saying nothing, for quite some time, all the way until we could see Naruto's ramen place. Damn, the boy was loud; I could hear him yelling from here. And I knew without a doubt that Hinata was there, too.

I grabbed Sasu-_Uchiha_'s arm (good god girl, think these things through! He's… him! Urgh…), and stopped him. The thought of free food had, once again, obviously taken over his mind (loser), and he was insistent that we go _get_ said food. I stopped him by hissing out "As it is, Naruto and Hinata are on something that could be considered a date, and people think they're together _anyways_. Do you want people thinking _we're_ together?!"

He looked slightly appalled. "You and I?"

Well, I was… offended… to say the least. So I kicked him. Again. And I _still_ got the greatest wave of satisfaction out of it. He didn't yelp like a puppy this time, but he _did_ glare at me.

Pffft, like I care. He can kiss my pasty white ass. I have better things to do then care about a petulant little boys. But still. I kind of owe him. I hate to say it, but he did sort of save my life.

Damn, damn, double damn. I really owe him, don't I? Fuck.


	4. Chapter 4

I have no idea why it's so easy to write this story. It's actually depressing. Sigh. WHY CAN'T SHARINGAN BE THIS EASY?! Sorry guys, major writer's block there…

**Disclaimer:** I still own nothing, you realize that, right?

**Dedication**: Ohhhh, to Breaking Benjamin. You want a good band? You got one. *glomps*

---

I rolled over the next morning, wearing what Kakashi tended to call my 'grumpy face'. Anko called it my 'get-the-fuck-out-of-the-way-before-I-_kill_-you' face. I tend to agree with Anko on this one (actually, I tend to agree with Anko on most things,). I'm in a mood to kill anyone or anything that gets in my way.

So both Kakashi and Anko left. They always did, in the mornings. I still, to this day, have no idea where they went. But that is not the center of this story. Anyways.

I was stomping around, glowering because I had to go to school that day. Why?! What is the point of this institution?! Do adults _really_ enjoy torture that much, or is it just me?! There was a note left on the table from Kakashi, threatening extreme pain if I didn't go to at least half of my classes today. Damn. Just to spite him, I burnt it, and left the ashes in a plastic bag, exactly where the scrap of paper had been.

At eight-thirty, I was still in my pajamas, sipping hot chocolate. I refuse to go in protest. Peaceful non-cooperation. I won't fight, but they won't budge me. Just like Gandhi! Kakashi said I had to go to half my classes. He never specified which half. And then the doorbell rang.

I wrapped one of Anko's crazy quilts around my shoulders, and stomped to the door. If it was Kakashi, I was going to open the door, kick him in the balls, and then set the alarm off. So there.

I peeked out the door's little spy-glass-thing.

And I started fuming.

For there stood who? No one but Sasuke Uchiha. I didn't unblock the door, and I went back into the kitchen. He couldn't get in, not unless he… _shit_. Because right at that second, I could hear the lock turning. Damn. I'd forgotten to lock-pick-proof those locks when I'd the chance. That's what I get for being lazy.

So in the dickhead came in, like he was king of the world. And he looked it, too, pretty hair and all. Screw him. I continued sipping my hot chocolate, and ignored him entirely. If he wanted something, he would have to vocalize it, and I had a sneaking suspicion (okay, it was full-blown knowledge…) that he didn't like speaking unless it was absolutely necessary.

He twitched, and I smirked to myself. Peaceful non-cooperation. I didn't realize it would _work_ so well, not to mention pissing _plenty_ of people off. This day was _already_ great! Yay!

"Sakura, get up."

"No."

"Get _up_."

"I refuse."

"Why?"

"Because I refuse to go to school when I don't have to. I've done all the stuff we're doing now, I did it a year and a half ago. I don't care if I get a bad reputation for skipping. I'm not going. Now if you'll get out of my house, I'm going back to my hot chocolate." I told him, nose in the air.

He looked amused. Uh-oh. _That_ couldn't be good. "Kakashi was right. He told me to check that you were up and getting to school, and to _force_ your lazy ass there if you weren't going."

I flipped him off. While this peaceful cooperation thing pisses people off, it also annoys me. But violence is not the answer. It is the question.

He picked me up.

Obviously, the answer to that question is _yes_.

I kneed him in the balls, and he dropped me, cursing eloquently. He's got nothing on Anko though, so I didn't even wrinkle my nose when I hit the floor. Anko'll out-swear you, and then knock you on your ass. She's done it to me so many times that I don't even really bruise anymore. Sigh. I climbed back up onto my chair at the table, and went back to sipping my chocolate, so dignified in so many ways.

"Uchiha, you're not taking me _anywhere_, I don't give a flying fuck _what_ Kakashi said. He can suck my guns. I refuse to go to school today, and I'm surprised you're going of your own volition. Not many people would do that."

He gave me an odd look as I said that, and then he sighed. He sat down across from me. That seat was usually empty. Our table was for four, something I'd never understood. But it didn't matter, because he was looking at me like I was the only girl in the entire world.

I almost had the grace to blush. But since I have no grace, I didn't.

"Sakura, you really don't care, do you?"

"What is this, twenty questions?"

"You owe me."

"So?"

"Call it what you want, I want to figure you out."

"Fuck you." But I understood what he wanted. That life debt wouldn't be close to paid, but I could start. "But ask your questions. There are rules, though. I won't answer anything that's too personal, understand?"

He nodded. "So answer the question. You really don't care at all, do you?"

I shook my head. "Not at all."

"What made you like this?"

"A lot of things."

"Care to elaborate?"

"No."

He glared at me, chagrined at my nonchalance. "Then how did you end up with Kakashi and Anko?"

I started to tell him that it was personal, but then I stopped. I knew his history; it was only fair that he knew mine. I growled to myself about my sense of justice. Why? But he'd have to convince me that he'd earned those answers.

"That's a long story."

"I have time."

"You have school."

"School can wait."

I smirked at him. "Hypocrite."

"Tell the damn story, Sakura."

I muttered to myself 'ungrateful', so low that he wouldn't have heard it, but I started to tell him the story.

"Just so you know, if you stop me, I won't be able to tell it properly. So… so just let me talk, 'kay?"

He nodded, and I told him my tale.

---

"And that's why I hate them so much. That's why I can't _stand_ leeches, because they tear families apart, in just the same way that they tore mine apart. And I'll never forgive them that."

He stared at me, in something that could be considered total disbelief. I don't blame him, but… well, all that staring was starting to get a little weird.

"Earth to Uchiha, come in, can you hear me in there?"

He glared at me, and I laughed at him. "Sakura, I _do_ happen to have a first name."

I shrugged. "Yeah, I know you do, but it's easier to call you by your last name." Easier for me, easier for you, easier for everyone, I think, but I don't say it out loud. I've been told I'm trouble _trouble-dangerous-bad-you-shouldn't-be-seen-with-that-girl-son-i'm-sorry_, but it's never really bothered me before. And it was just… easier… this way. _Easy-peasy-pudding-and-pie-kiss-the-girls-and-make-them-cry-kind-of-easy_.

And, besides that, at some point, I'm going to leave. I don't want to be too attached to anyone, because that would make leaving difficult. And I dislike difficulties. They have this tendency to get in the way of things I want to do.

I check the clock, and take mild interest as I realize that it's past noon. Oh well, no school for me today. "Hey, you should probably get to school."

He scoffed. "You're not getting rid of me that easily Sakura. If I'm going, you're going."

I gave him one of my are-you-insane-get-out-of-my-house-looks (yes, I have a lot of weird looks at my command, go away), and then muttered "You freakin' wish. I'm not going _anywhere_. I already told you that,".

Uchiha smirked at me. Damn bastard. "C'mon princess, get up and get ready. The sun's hiding in the clouds, and it's a perfectly fine day to go to school."

I flipped him off, wrapped the quilt tighter around my shoulder, and realized that my hot chocolate was now just chocolate milk, and that I had better make some more.

I shrieked when he picked me up again, this time making sure I couldn't knee and or kick him anywhere that could cause him extreme pain (all that _that_ meant was that he tossed me over his shoulder. It's not my fault I'm tiny, okay?!). The only thing I _could_ do was beat my fists against his back. It was kind of pointless.

"Stop fidgeting, you're making this harder on the both of us," he growled out, and my fidgeting got worse. What did he expect? That I'd make this _easy_ for him? No! I refuse.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked. Okay, struggling was boring.

"To school."

"Dressed like this?! Uchiha, don't you realize what they'll _think_?!"

"I don't care what they think."

"Uchiha, if you don't put me down right _this second_, I will scream rape as soon as we get out the door and plenty of people will come running, and you will be in trouble. I've learned very well how to make myself sound sick." I croaked the last word, and I knew I sounded exactly like I was dying. I had perfected it during a particularly nasty stint with some leeches in Toronto, when we were there.

"If I have to fake my own death to get away from you, I will."

He groaned, and put me down at the front door. I smiled. Victory is _mine_. Actually, I was surprised at how gently he put me down. He didn't drop me like I expected, he set me down on my feet, and made sure I didn't fall over. His fingers lingered a second too long on my arm, and I shook him off.

I narrowed my eyes. He was obviously trying a different tactic, assuming correctly that, if forced, I wouldn't be going _anywhere_. And if he tries the seduction thing, I will castrate him. I'm not in the mood, right now. I'm in the mood to go back to sleep.

But his lips were against my ear for a second, and he whispered "Are you okay?"

Nervously, I pushed him away. I dislike having my personal bubble invaded in such a way. It's scary, having someone you don't like so close to you. (Ahhh, but you _don't_ hate him, do you princess? Do you?) I shook the little voice off, and ignored the lie.

I do hate him. I do.

"I'm fine. Could you get out of my personal space, before I freak out?"

He took a step back.

It wasn't enough to satisfy me, but it was enough to let me think. Because it really _was_ hard to think, when he was there in my space like that. Oh, don't look at me like that; you wouldn't be able to think either if a very pretty boy in skinny jeans was whispering in your ear either, would you?

…Don't answer that, it was a rhetorical question.

"Look… Sasuke…" I forced his name out from between clenched teeth. "I really just want to go back to bed, so you need to go, okay? Because I'm not the one Kakashi'll be mad at if he comes home, and you're still here. And I'm in no mood to stop him from killing you. He seems to think I can't protect my honor from a single guy."

I took a deep breath, and continued. "So just please leave, okay?" But the entire time, I didn't look him in the eye. I couldn't look him in the eyes.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, and looked at me strangely. Not the 'only-girl-in-the-world' kind of strange, the 'you-are-a-freak' kind of strange. At least this kind of strange makes sense.

"Do you really hate me so much, that you can't even look at me?"

Something inside of me shattered (my control, I think…), and I snapped my angry gaze carelessly up at him. "I'm looking at you now, and you need to leave, understand?"

A flash of emotion crossed his features, but it was too fast for me to decipher it, and then his entire face went blank. He shoved his hands deep in his pockets, and gave me another undecipherable look, and then said, so softly, a smirk marring his lips "See you later, princess," and I just wanted to kick him.

I slammed the door after he'd left, and rested my overly-large forehead against it. He was such a jerk. Why did he do things like this to me? I didn't even like him all that much! I needed to talk to Anko about this.

So I went and curled up on the couch with our crappy laptop, and even crappier wireless net service, and waited for my parents to get home.

---

Kakashi didn't even have the guts to glare at me. As soon as they got in the house, both him and Anko knew there was something wrong with me, because I didn't even say hello, something that had been a habit for as long as I could remember.

Anko came and found me on the couch, curled up. I didn't even realize I was shaking.

She threw her arms around me, and for once, I welcomed the embrace, not something I would normally have done. So she knew that there was something really wrong with me.

"C'mere hunny, and tell me exactly what's wrong." She sat down next to me, her arms still wrapped around my shaking body. Kakashi left the room after one fearsome glare from my adoptive mother, getting the vibe that this was a girl talk that he had no right to be intruding on.

"Anko, there was something that you didn't tell me yesterday, when Uchiha was here. When you were talking about our mothers. What was it?"

She looked away, a dark blush marring her normally-pale cheeks. I was shocked. Anko did not _blush_. It simply did not happen. What was going on here?!

"Oh. That."

"Yes, that. Anko, what was it about?"

"It's a long story sweetie."

"I don't care. It highly concerns me, and it has to do with why he calls me princess. I think I have a right to know."

She sighed softly, and her purple eyes swept over my face, like she was searching for long-hidden information. But I had to know. I just _had_ to, because there was no telling what could end up happening between Uchiha and I.

"Sakura, this started off a long time ago, when both your mother and Sasuke's mother, Mikoto, were children. They met, and it was like they were instantly best friends. And they stayed that way. They grew up together, but they made a promise that their children, too, would one day be best friends."

She paused to let me digest this information. I nodded to get her to continue. There was so much I didn't _know_…

"Now, they both came from highly respected families from among the hunter community, and they were both known to be very beautiful, very kindhearted women. And there were many men who wanted to marry the two of them. But they refused every offer of marriage. By then, Tsunade had found me, and they were taking care of me, teaching me everything I needed to know to be a strong part of their world. And I loved them both so much. They were my best friends. So I understood what they wanted in boys. They wanted a pair of best friends who would love them forever.

And that's what they got. One day, when I was seven, your mother took me out shopping. She was eighteen at the time, being eleven years older then I was, almost to the day, and Tsunade had wanted her to do some random chores, like buying more sake, but the old boozer's supply was running low." Here, she stopped and snorted, and then looked at me fore another long moment.

"Kaia was a lot like you Sakura, full of righteous anger at the world, and she was a feminist before her time. But that day, we went out, and we were shopping. And we met up with Mikoto, and I was having so much fun, because the older girls liked me enough to bring me along on their random trips. And that was where they met Fugaku and your father, Toushiro.

I was hiding behind your mother and Mikoto, and I watched them glare so furiously at these two boys, and I didn't understand why they didn't like them so much. I didn't understand until later that they came from rival families, and that there was a lot of resentment there. But I could feel the hostility rolling off your mother and Mikoto in waves, and it scared me, because both of them had always been so kind, and I'd never felt anything like anger from them, ever before.

So it scared me, and they whisked me away, leaving the two boys standing there, all alone. I asked the two of them about it afterwards, and they explained all of this to me. But I guess the line between hate and love is very, very, very thin, because it didn't take your mother and father long at all to fall in love. Nor did it take them long to introduce Mikoto and Fugaku properly. And soon, they were married. At both weddings, I was a bridesmaid, and they were most beautiful weddings I had ever been to, if only because the bride and groom were so in love with each other. It was amazing, Sakura, in so many ways."

She paused again, and I let this information sink into my brain. There was so much… but how did it have anything to do with Uchiha and I? Well, there was the best friend's part…

"Go on."

She nodded, and continued. "And then your oldest brother was born, and a few months after that, Itachi, Mikoto's first son, was born. They too, grew up together. They were the best of the best, having inherited both of their parent's abilities. No one else their age could touch them, and they spent a good deal of their time with Kakashi.

And then you were born. Sasuke was born a few months before that, and the two of you met almost right away. But, while your brother had gotten on gotten on perfectly well with Itachi, to the point that they were inseparable, you and Sasuke did _not_ get along. It was apparent in everything you two did. Actually, it was really funny, from my perspective, the few times I saw you two when you were that young.

Well, Kaia and Mikoto couldn't believe it. They were _so sure_ you tow were going to hit it off, the way Itachi and Koryaku had. But I reminded them of how _they_ had been with the loves of their lives, and this placated them some, I guess."

She stopped, grief constricting her features. I knew what came next, so I supplied the words. "And then my parents were murdered, and Kakashi found me. Anko, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want to hurt you, sweetie. This wasn't something you tell a ten-year old. You were still dealing with not having birth parents, and having teenagers as the only parental guidance in the world. I still sometimes think we could have done things better."

I shook my head, and hugged her as hard as I could. "No anko, you and Kakashi were the best thing that ever happened to me. I probably wouldn't have survived without you two."

I never realized how hard it must have been for Anko to have lost my mother. I knew they had been close, but not the kind of close that Anko and I have. I guess I was wrong.

As I thought her story over, I saw a gaping problem. "But I still hate him, Anko."

She chuckled. "That's not hate, sweetie. That's you being unable to control the fact that you _want_ to like him, so you let yourself put up the simplest barrier of all. But don't let it stop you from being happy hunny. If you want to be his friend, be his friend, prejudices left aside."

I hugged Anko again, harder this time. Anko always made so much sense. I was glad I had her, her and Kakashi, and not someone else to take care of me, because no one else would have dealt with grief over my family in the same way. The simply ignored it, and let me mourn however I wanted to. And the best way for me to have done that was to have been allowed to learn how to kill the things that had destroyed the happiness I _did_ have.

And I learned how to do that. Nothing could have been better then what I got. Because I didn't just learn how to deal with that never-ending fountain of grief. I learned how to make sure that that fountain never splashed anyone else.

"One other thing, Anko. How long do boys stay stupid?"

My adoptive mother sighed, and shook her head. "They stay stupid for a _very_ long time Sakura. Don't count on them getting any smarter any time soon. Sorry sweetie."

---

I went to school the next day.

I even did it with little prodding from Kakashi. I was ready by eight-thirty, and got him to drive me, because I _still_ refused to take a bus. I didn't have a bus pass; I didn't take th4e bus enough to warrant one, so getting driven was all I could do.

I really needed a car. Because this getting-Kakashi-to-drive-me-in-his-fancy-silver-Viper-and-watching-people-stare was starting to get old. And it was starting to annoy me when random guys came up to me and asked me for my number. But of course, Hinata saved the day by showing up and pulling me to Homeroom, because, let's facer it, if she hadn't, I probably would have left and gone back home.

Our teacher looked happy to see me, and she asked where'd I'd been the day before. I lied and told her I'd stayed home with a stomach ache. She looked at me sympathetically, and asked if I was fine now. No, I told her, but my father had wanted to make sure I didn't miss too much.

After the second round of twenty questions in two days, I went and sat down next to Hinata.

And then Sasuke came in, and my palms started to sweat. There was so much he didn't _know_. But he didn't even look at me, and so I ignored him. I supposed yesterday never happened. But as he passed me, he dropped a piece of paper on the floor next to me.

With the excuse of having to tie my shoe, I reached down and picked the scrap of paper up.

Written on it, in beautiful, gilt scrip that I recognized as Tsunade's, were the words _**Sakura, I'm partnering you with Sasuke from now, until further notice**_.

What?!

O, this couldn't be right. But Tsunade's writing was so distinctive, and it always had been. But I never worked with partners. It was too dangerous; we'd proved that when Hinata had nearly been changed in that alley, not even a week ago.

I just was no good at working with other people.

But the words danced in front of me, and I knew that something had happened to make Tsunade put me on a team. And she knew I'd never go against orders, no matter how much I despised their content. I'd proved that so many times. So why was this happening? It meant I would never be able to let Sasuke die. It meant she pitied me, in a way.

It also meant I couldn't leave Konoha, not even if I wanted to.


	5. Chapter 5

Hello, ladies and gents, how is everyone? I'm worried about my younger brother. He's really sick, and he's in the hospital. But on with the story!

**Disclaimer:** I still own jack shit.

**Dedication:** To the evils and the angels in my world. I love you all. Can you guess what song I'm listening to?

---

I was lying on my bed that night, still going over the conversation with Anko from the day before in my head, and I realized something. She had never answered the question that had started the entire conversation.

She'd never explained why Sasuke calls me 'princess'. Damn it, and both Anko and Kakashi had gone out tonight, to celebrate their anniversary. I'd totally forgotten about it, but I guess that suited them just fine. They prefer things like that to be private, and I don't blame them.

Privacy is a wonderful thing.

I sighed, and rolled over, and got a look at my still-barren room. There were boxes everywhere, because I really hadn't had time to unpack (okay, that was a lie, but whatever), and I'd had no motivation to unpack _whatsoever_.

I'd had no motivation to unpack because I hadn't been planning on staying her long. I had wanted to go back to New York, or Toronto, or Hong Kong, or anywhere other then this tiny city.

And really, I still wanted to go. But I couldn't. Not now. _Now _I had a partner. I shuddered at the thought. It's just so wrong! That means I actually have to _care_ what someone else is doing while I'm killing leeches. Urgh.

And, of all people, it has to be my worst nightmare! Please, Tsunade, couldn't you have picked _anyone_ else?! But of course she couldn't. Tomorrow I should probably go to school. Today had been beyond boring, but… mneeh. I really didn't want to go. And I had so much to do…

I'm sure I could get away with not going. Especially if it was for work. Kakashi wouldn't get mad if I went to help Tsunade for extra _work_. He might be less forgiving if I just didn't want to go school, but if I have a good enough reason… I'm sure he'll see it my way.

And if not, I appeal to Anko, and then I win anyways.

I took another look at the still-unpacked boxes, sighed, and started unpacking.

---

Urgh, I had no idea I had so much _stuff_. Really _random_ stuff, too, like old records of leech attacks that were misinterpreted by the human authorities. And believe me, it happens a lot. And the poor human guys who have to deal with it. They have no idea what they're fighting, and not only that, they have no chance of _winning_. Do they not understand that?

I picked up one of the really old newspapers (it was from over four years ago), and smiled nostalgically at it. It had been one of the first leeches I had ever killed, this one. It hadn't even been that strong, but it had been wreaking havoc in Washington, and it had been supremely annoying Tsunade.

And she would have sent Kakashi on it, too, but, noooo, Kakashi got lazy, so poor, eleven-year-old Sakura had to do it. Picture this. A tiny girl with pink hair, clutching a rifle that looked _way_ too big for her, standing in the middle of a park at sunset. It didn't take long for the leech to find me, and it took me even less time to put a bullet through its head.

And that was one of the first times I'd ever seen a leech die. At that point, it still scared me when a leech would die. I hadn't gotten used to the way they made that nasty gargling sound, burst into flames, and then turned into ash. And Kakashi hadn't exactly warned me about that part.

But of course he wouldn't. He wanted me to understand what the real world was like. And let me tell you, he certainly managed that. For that first year, I would go home feeling sick to my stomach from just having murdered (in my eleven-year-old mind) a sentient being.

And then I watched a tiny little boy nearly die of blood loss because one of those things was feeding on him. After that, I was past caring. I stopped the leech, and saved the kid's life, but it left an impact on me that I'll never forget. The way the kid's eyes were so wide, so terrified, reminded me of _my_ six-year-old self, and I knew I couldn't let some mother cry at that kid's funeral.

I just couldn't let it happen.

And now, bloodshed and all, I'm standing in tiny room in this tiny, dirty town, and I'm staring at this old, dirty piece of paper, and, looking back at that moment now, I think that I was really a screwed-up girl, because I didn't hesitate.

But it didn't matter now.

A crash broke through my thoughts. What the hell, was there anyone else in the house? I snapped my head up, grabbed the twin knives lying on my desk, and slipped down the stairs, one knife pointing forward, and the other, backwards. That was the best positions for these kinds of knives, I reflected quickly, Kakashi's training affecting even my common sense.

It was dark on the main floor, but the layout of the house wasn't all that hard, and there was a darker spot, something that couldn't be a natural shadow, hiding in the middle of the kitchen.

Silent steps later, and I was at the intruder's back, my knife pressing into the back of his neck. He stiffened, and I smirked in triumph and brought my lips to his ear. "Hello there. What are you doing in my darkened house when my parents are out?" He stuggled a bit, and I kept whispering. "Don't move sweetheart, or I'm going to rip your throat out."

While he was distracted by the fact that there was a deadly weapon pressed into his neck, and that I was whispering in his ear (I don't normally do things like that, you know), I whipped the other knife up, and was about to slices it into his jugular, but a hand stopped me.

That hand threw me against the counter, and trapped me against it. Damn. The knife that had been at the back of his throat caught his skin and ripped through it, but only just. I hissed, knowing I was trapped. How had he _moved_ so fast? Whoever it was, they weren't a normal human, because no one had _ever_ out maneuvered me when it came to speed. And he was bigger then me, so much taller, and I couldn't move at _all_. And, damn, I'd dropped both the knives. I'd heard them clatter to the ground, the sharpened silver clinking efficiently. Double damn.

While we were standing there, this person and me, the most amazing scent washed over me. It was _amazing_, but, at the same time, somehow familiar. Where had I smelled it before? My eyes clouded over for a fraction of a second, and I let myself revel in it, before concentrating on the task at hand.

I could hear heavy breathing, and I realized as a chill ran through my blood that it could only be a leech. No normal human could move that fast. And I knew, without a doubt, that he wouldn't be leaving a girl with thick, hot blood running through her veins alive. Damn. Kakashi would _not_ be happy if he came home to my dead body. A sigh escaped my lips as I waited for the pin prick of fangs against my neck, and whoever it was stiffened again.

I blinked at this sudden, and rather unexpected, advantage. He had frozen up just because I'd _breathed_ on him?

Well, that brought all _sorts_ of things that I could do to get out this situation to mind. The knives were still on the ground, unforgotten. I had better be careful where I moved; they would tear through skin easier then, well, the best analogy I had at that second was 'easier then a knife through warm butter'. Which is kind of lame, considering it was a knife we're talking about.

The heavy breathing didn't let up, and I let out another soft sigh, and was satisfied to feel him freeze once again. My arms were free, and I gently reached up, and touched the place where the heavy breathing was coming from.

I could feel soft skin. _Warm_, soft skin. _Alive_. So it wasn't a leech. My body relaxed slightly when I realized that I wasn't going to be turned, and I think that he could feel it, because he tensed up again. Poor boy. If you're wondering how I knew it was a boy… that's easy. I was pressed up against him. I knew this intruder was a boy.

I traced my fingers down a straight, aquiline nose, and touched his lip. Oh. _Oh_. An evil, wicked idea crossed my mind. You know those things that you _know_ you shouldn't do, but that evil, bitchy part of you wants to, and decides to take control of your body? Yeah. That's what happened here.

I reached my fingers up into his hair, and pulled him closer, and his breathing, still heavy, sped up. He didn't pull away when I tugged him closer, and I smirked in the darkness. I could _taste_ revenge on my tongue.

After all, if there's one thing I _do_ know, it's that no boy, no matter his age, is able to control his hormones.

We stood there for another half-second, his lips just mere inches from mine. I knew that if I stood up on tiptoe, I would be able to kiss him. I smirked again, victory thick on my tongue.

I wouldn't think until later that I hadn't been fighting a battle at all, so why was there a taste of victory in the air? It didn't matter, because at that moment, something snapped, inside him or me, I was never to be sure, and I tugged him the mere inches closer, and his lips were on mine.

It wasn't quite like anything I'd ever experienced before. It was fire-hot and full of something I never have a name for, sweet but bitter at the same time. He almost tasted like chocolate, but it was too bitter to be chocolate. Maybe cocoa without sugar, then, with that bitterness. But it was wonderful, and I hated him for it.

I hated him, because I didn't even know his name.

He wasn't keeping me trapped the way he had been before, and then his arms slipped around my waist, and I just pulled him closer. I may have hated him, but right then, I knew he was _mine_. He was _mine_, and I wanted him.

His tongue danced along my lips, just as his fingers grazed underneath my loose pajama tank top. I gasped, and he took advantage of that. Bastard.

I didn't know how long it lasted, but it must have been a while, because a little later, I heard Kakashi and Anko come in through the front door. I pulled away from him with a gasp, and tried to pull out of his grip.

He didn't let me.

So I tugged harder. He simply renewed his grip on my waist, and pulled me, if possible, closer to his body. That scent washed over my body, and I was, once again, momentarily stunned. I couldn't _think_ when he was that close. Where had I smelled it before? I was sure I knew it…

"Kakashi's gonna kill you if he see's us. Or he might just leave you to Anko."

He didn't say anything, but I could feel him smile against my throat, before placing one long, lasting open-mouthed kiss there.

And then the light flickered on.

**((Do you people have **_**any**_** idea how much I wanted to end it there?!))**

And I realized I was looking up into the smirking face of my worst enemy-slash-nightmare-partner. Oh, god no. Please no. Tell me this is a dream. No, not a dream. A nightmare. No, not even a nightmare, a nightmare is usually nicer then this. A night-terror. Yes, that was it.

A squeaked "Sakura?!" brought me to my senses. I turned in the bastard's grip, and found myself staring at a flabbergasted Kakashi, his eyes wider then the full moon, and a smirking Anko, both of them watching their precious daughter basically making out with Sasuke Uchiha, in what used to be a very dark room. Oh dear god.

"Uh… Hi?" was what I managed to get out, albeit in a voice two or three octaves higher then normal.

"About damn time," was all Anko muttered, and she grabbed Kakashi by the back of his head, and tugged him sharply by the hair out of the kitchen. A few seconds later, she stuck her head back in a said, in that evil, happy voice of hers, with the biggest smirk the world has ever seen plastered on her lips, "Condoms cost less then babies. Have fun, kiddies!"

I stared after her, my eyes probably wider then dinner plates, the bastard behind me momentarily forgotten. She did _not_ just tell me that condoms cost less then babies. She did _not_ just go there.

But I guess she did, because the bastard (I refuse to even call him by his last name, now) whipped me around to face him.

Okay, I was wrong before. Anko has the second-biggest smirk on the planet. The bastard's was about twice as big as her. Oh, how can he be so bloody calm?!

'_He was the one who showed up in _your_ house, dipshit_! _He was probably expecting something like this to happen_!!!' said the sardonic little voice in the back of my head, the one that always spoke in Anko's voice. Damn. She was right. Or I was right. Or… whatever.

I clenched my teeth, and hissed out "Let. Me. Go. _Now_."

"And why should I?"

"Because if you don't, I'm going to can you so hard, you'll never have children."

He pressed me against the counter again, and I realized I couldn't move either of my legs if I wanted to stay standing. Fucking hell. Please god, what did I do to deserve this? He lowered his lips to my ear, and caught the lobe of my ear between his teeth. A shudder ran down my spine as he tugged gently on it, although I wasn't sure if it was pleasure or disgust. I was leaning towards disgust.

… I hoped.

"You don't want me to let you go. Or you'd have gotten out of this position a long time ago."

"I didn't know it was _you_ a long time ago!!!" I hissed at him, thoroughly disturbed that he was _right_.

"Oh, so you go around making out with random guys?" he asked me, his lips still too close to my ear for comfort. This is the second time in a day that he's invaded my personal bubble! How dare he?!

"I guess I _do_ go around making out with random guys, especially when they turn up in my _kitchen_, in the _middle of the night_!" I all but screeched at him.

He shut up fairly effectively when he sealed my lips off with his. Bastard. But… ohh… that was _nice_… Anko's voice sounded in my head _condoms-cost-less-then-babies-less-then-less-then-what-are-you-doing-you-dumb-bitch?!_ and I pulled away from him. It was hard, like moving through liquid, but I managed it. Go me!

"If you _ever_ kiss me again, I will make _sure_ that you disappear on our next mission, partner or not."

He smirked down benignly at me (how does he do that? How can one _smirk benignly_? Isn't that sort of contradictory?), and then he pulled away from me. My traitorous body instantly missed his, missed the heat he gave off. I shut said traitorous body up with a mental slap.

"Get out." I murmured, all the fire gone, suddenly. Suddenly, I was so tired. Too tired to even consider yelling. What was the point? I stared at the ground, not wanting to meet his eyes. I knew if I did that, I wouldn't be able to stay mad at him.

"Princess, are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Just get out."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

He didn't move.

"I just have a question, Uchiha."

"…Ask me, then."

"Why do you call me that? Why can't it just be enough that I don't like you? Why do you… why do… why?"

"Because." And then he walked out of the kitchen, and I heard his footsteps padding softly out the front door. It felt like he was walking out of my life. Good.

I sank down to my knees, and simply let the tears fall. I didn't make a sound, didn't let out a whimper, didn't scream, didn't sniffle. I simply let the tears run down my cheeks, taking mascara and black eye liner with them. I just let them fall.

And that was where I stayed; sitting of the floor, tear tracks on my cheeks, until the next morning.

---

Anko came down first, and found me. She didn't even ask if I wanted to go to school. She just pulled me to my feet without a word, and dragged me to my favorite ugly, puke orange couch. And then she wrapped me up in a couple of her nutty quilts, and went and got my some breakfast.

I cuddled deep into the couch, the first move I'd made all night. I hadn't slept (did you expect me to?), and my muscles screamed at the movement. I hissed softly.

Anko came back with a cup of tea, and sat down in front of me. She was giving me her I-am-your-mother-so-tell-me-what-happened-right-this-instant-look. Sigh. I decided on a diversionary tactic. She still hadn't answered my question.

"Why does he call me princess, Anko? And don't avoid the question this time, because I know you did yesterday."

She winced, and I knew I had her. "He calls you princess because you _are_ his princess."

I blinked, not understanding her meaning. "Care to explain?"

"Sakura, have you ever wondered why Kakashi and I have kept you out of normal school?"

I rolled my eyes at her. "Because I have no patience, and I'd probably have ended up hurting some annoying kid who was bigger then me."

She winced again, and nodded. "Well, there was that. But there was also, well, there was also something else."

"Else? Anko, please don't make me force this out of you."

She sighed, winced for a third time, and continued. "Sakura, you don't remember, because you were still passed out. But your mother and Mikoto, there was something else they had promised from their childhood, and then again when Sasuke and you were born."

Oh no, somehow I could see where this was going… "And just _what_ was it, specifically, that they promised?"

"They promised that you two would get married. Of course, they had no idea what was going to happen. But they wanted it to happen."

I opened my mouth to say something, but she held up a hand to stop me.

"You two aren't engaged. They weren't _that_ old fashioned."

I closed my mouth in relief.

But still, she continued. "But when you were out, Sakura, just after your family had passed on, Mikoto and Sasuke and Fugaku and Itachi, they came to see you. Itachi could barely look at you, if I remember correctly, because you looked so much like your brother, pink hair, stubborn chin, and all."

I blinked. You learn something new everyday, no? (Or, in my case, you learn enough cataclysmic information to kill a person in a day.)

"They offered to take you."

My jaw dropped a foot and a half. (Part of my brain registered more cataclysmic information. Sigh.)

"I refused, of course. You were already _mine_. There was no will prepared, but everyone knew you'd either be left in Tsunade's or Mikoto's care. And Tsunade decided that it would be best if you were left with me. Mikoto was terrified that you would never be the same, and she didn't want a seventeen year old to have to deal with the weight that a child can bring. Not to mention the fact that you'd probably be torn with grief. No child can live through what you lived through and not come out changed."

She stopped, and took a deep breath. "We were all standing around your bed. You were asleep so soundly, like there was nothing going on. But you wouldn't let go of my hand, and that helped Mikoto understand that you wanted me to be around, and not someone else.

"It also made her realize something, I think. She realized that you could disappear just as quickly as your mother had, and she didn't want that to happen. So she made Fugaku and Itachi and Kakashi leave. She told them it was girl stuff that involved Sasuke. They left willingly after the 'girl talk' part."

She laughed, and I found myself hanging on to her every word.

"She picked Sasuke up, and put him on the bed. He sat next to you, and just stared at you for a little bit. And then he reached out and took your other hand. I think he understood that you were going to be very alone for a long time.

And then he said that he wanted to protect you forever. Mikoto explained that he probably couldn't do that, because we would be traveling a lot, and that he wouldn't see you for a very long time. But he was adamant about it."

She shook her head with another laugh. "I don't think I've ever seen such determination in any kid. Well, any kid except you, anyways. But anyways. Back to the story. And then he said that you were his princess. It didn't matter to him if you weren't going to see each other for a long time; all that mattered was that you were _his_. Mikoto started crying, because it was, in a way, fulfilling a long-dead promise, but she told him she couldn't promise that you would always be his."

She stopped, and then started again. It was like she was remembering something that was particularly sweet. "But he stuck to it for another half-hour, until we both gave in. And then he kissed you on the forehead, and that was that. They left, but from then on, Sakura, part of you was always with him."

I blinked again, letting my brain process. Stupid cataclysmic information. This was the third time in two days that my life had been irrevocably changed. Damn. I rubbed my forehead, my eyebrows furrowed.

"So basically, in a way, I belong to him?"

With yet another wince, she said "You could say that."

"Well, that makes things… complicated."

"Complicated doesn't even _begin_ to cover it, sweetheart. Although," she said, a smirk once again making its way onto her lips "You should have seen the look on Kakashi's face last night. I think you two almost gave him a heart attack."

And then we both looked at each other for a moment, before breaking down, howls of laughter getting the better of the two of us.

We laughed for ten minutes, and then a very grumpy Kakashi came down the stairs, his white hair all tussled, and he wasn't even wearing his customary hunting mask. He looked at us like we were crazy, both his scarred eye and his normal eye deciding it was better to ignore us.

Anko jumped up, and glomped him, just like she did every other morning. And then they argued over what to have for breakfast, whether it was chocolate-covered bacon (Anko's two favorite foods combined), or pancakes (my favorite food), or simply toast, just like every other morning.

Warmth ran through my chest as I watched them. This was my family. They were all that mattered.

I turned my attention to the Uchiha (yes, I've gone back to calling him by his last name. 'The bastard' is too long, and it gives him distinction. I don't just nickname random people, after all) issue. There were a lot of ways to approach the whole thing, and I wasn't quite sure which one would be best.

But at least I would always have Kakashi and Anko on my side.

I looked over at my phone.

It was time to call Hinata.


	6. Chapter 6

O.o You people amaze me. So many reviews! ^_^ Oh, and happy New Year's everyone! (Even if you don't celebrate it!)

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

**Dedication:** To rEbEl-fOr-sHoW, because she makes me smile. Also to my chocokittens, and my crackfiction. I love you both so much.

---

I swore loudly.

It was the third time I'd tried calling Hinata, and so far, she hadn't picked up. I swear, if she's with Naruto, I'm going to… well, I'm going to squeal in fangirlish joy, let's face it. I know, I know, it's stupid, but they're _so cute_, it's almost surreal.

I checked the clock, nervously _nervous-nervous-nervous-just-waiting-for-something-to-go-wrong_ and, just to pass the time, flicked the TV on. I went through channel after channel, but there was _nothing_ on. It somehow irked me to no end. Why was there nothing on, ever? Is it just me, or is there something really wrong with that?

The phone rang, and I dove at it.

"Hello?"

"Get your scrawny ass down to HQ, _right now_." Uchiha's voice sounded through the receiver, and I hissed. How could he call me, when I wasn't sure if I ever wanted to see him again?

"And why should I, your Greatness? Just because?"

"No, you dumb bitch, because Tsunade's got a job for us, and I don't really want to show up at your house again _randomly_."

His emphasis on that last word set me to steaming, but I controlled it, and brought my voice to that sub-zero level that worked so well at concealing emotions, in both Kakashi and me. "Fine. I'll see you in a half an hour."

And then I hung up, not even wanting to _think_ about him.

Well, I had half an hour to goof off. Or I could take a shower, and feel at least like I _tried_… And so that's what I did. I went and took a ten-minute shower (not even _close_ to long enough, in my opinion), towel-dried my hair, and got dressed.

I pulled on an old, worn pair of cut-offs that had, at one point, been my favorite pair of jeans, over fishnet stockings, and I rummaged around my bedroom floor until I found my black-and-red-striped long-sleeved t-shirt, and tugged it over my head.

A makeup check (bright green liner with black mascara, just for the hell of it) later, and another stolen jacket, and I was ready to go. I grabbed the hand-gun-and-chain ensemble that I'd recently started using, tugged my bright red high tops on, and I was out the door.

I ambled down the street, my hands shoved deep in the pockets of Kakashi's coat. Wait, was this Kakashi's coat? It didn't look like it, because I'd never seen it before, and it smelled different.

But whatever. It must have been one of Anko's.

I snuck into the abandoned alleyway, took one look at the dilapidated door (I didn't even have the heart to mentally abuse the crappy thing right now), and went in.

It went black, just as it had the last two times I'd entered this place, but I'd figured that that was because it was so dark, it would blind even the most sensitive leech. As a mere human, I was worse then useless in this kind of dark. It was like they had sucked the light from the place, and it almost gave me shivers.

And then the sickly yellow light flickered on, and I found Uchiha at my right side. I didn't move a muscle. As far as I was concerned, he'd stopped existing until I figured out just what he was to me.

And Tsunade was staring at me, her hands fisted on the table in the middle of the room. I walked over to her, Uchiha keeping silent at my side, until we were right across from her, the table separating us.

Her voice sounded exhausted when she spoke. "I need you two to do a scouting mission along the outskirts of the city. There have been more attacks then usual, and I want to know why."

I nodded, and was about to ask her a question, but she held up a hand to stop me, just as Anko did. So _that_'swhere Anko got that particular trait from…

"No, Sakura, no one else is going with you, but you'll be in constant contact with Hinata and myself. If you find out what it is that's causing all of these attacks, I want you to report back to me _immediately_, I don't care _what_ it is you're doing. These are drop-everything circumstances, Sakura."

I clenched my fists. That meant if we had found out what was causing the leeches to be in such an uproar, we were to leave the humans in the area defenseless, not a care in the world to their situation. I wouldn't be able to do that.

But Uchiha was nodding, and so I clenched my jaw, and nodded rather mechanically. One or two lives were weighed against the entire city. It just wasn't worth it. Of course, I'm just telling myself that. And as long as I _keep_ telling myself that, I should be fine _one-lives-two-lives-three-lives-four-what's-the-difference-in-the-end?_

"Oh, and Sakura?" I blinked at Tsunade as she spoke. "Come back alive, I don't want to deal with an angry Kakashi."

I nodded mechanically for a second time, and then both Uchiha and I turned to leave the place. My hands were still clenched at my sides, and it was all I could do to keep myself from shaking. Tsunade _knew_ how much I hated unnecessary human death. It was so… pointless.

But human death and leech death were two very different things, I found myself thinking. Leeches caused death. It was a preternatural part of them - ingrained into their very beings. And part of me understands that and doesn't hold it against them.

The rest of me, of course, is a different story. The rest of me stopped caring the minute I saw my mother's favorite necklace hanging from a person who smelled of death's wrist, and I knew I would never be the same. Any other kid would have told you the same.

I threw open the door (alright, I've given up, I have no energy to insult the damn thing), and I walked out into bright sunshine, the day icy white with cold, Uchiha behind me.

I shivered, and re-considered my choice of clothes.

I wanted _pants_. And so that was where I was headed, home, to find some pants. Because I was _cold_, damnit, and if there's one thing I hate besides leeches, it's the cold. I shuddered, and rushed home.

Uchiha ambled after me, but I was too cold to care.

---

I wrapped my arms around my now-clad-in-jeans legs, pulled them up to my chest, and rested my chin on them. Uchiha was sitting across from me at the still-meant-for-four-people table in the kitchen, and he was staring at me with something like pity on his face.

Why pity? Of all things, it had to be pity.

"Princess, does this really bother you that much?"

I answered, unthinking. "Don't call me that, and yes, it does. I'll probably be numb by the end of the day. Just… don't talk to me until after this mission is over, alright? I probably won't be able to think all that well until then."

He nodded his assent, but I don't think he really understood. Or maybe he did. He wasn't trying to coddle me, or touch me, or even comfort me. He just let me sit there, numb in my own… there's no word for what I was feeling. It was shock and anger and _numbness_, all at once, and it was kind of sickening.

And I still wasn't sure how I felt about him.

Something told me, though, that unless I brought the subject up, he would let it rest, and not bring it up. It hit too close to home, and I just… couldn't deal with it, not right now. There was too much else on my mind.

A few hours later, and the sun was starting to set. It always did, here. The sun set so early, and people never went in until late… A leeches' paradise, I thought, but said nothing aloud.

We left my house, both clad in black, him, because that was him, and me, because that was the colour of my mood. I was in no mood to play around. I wanted this thing over and done with, but it wouldn't be, not for a few days at least.

And I had gone so far as to do my hair up with needle-sharp daggers, left open for all the world to see. I didn't want to be messed with, and it would be severely detrimental to anyone, mortal _or_ immortal, to come near me.

Even Uchiha was affected by my black _black-black-black-stark-as-night-without-stars-black_ mood. But he just seemed amused, and that made my mood even blacker, if it was possible.

I think I go through varying degrees of dislike with this kid. Some days he mildly annoys me, and then sometimes he _really_ annoys me, and then some of the time I can't stand to see his face. But most of the time I just want to _smack_ him so hard he'll never smirk again.

Yeah, let's go with that.

Because annoyance is easier to deal with then… everything else there is. Everything else is still untested waters, still dangerous, still… scary, I guess is the best way to put it. Because there's just so _much_…

And we're nothing alike, he and I. I'm normally a fairly happy person. I like my chocolate and my guns and my solitude. And he's… _him_. That's all there is too it. You just can't describe Uchiha. It's impossible.

So we went along to the dirtiest streets in Konoha, and I find myself slightly sickened by the place. It's not as bad as New York, not by far, but it's more hopeless. Like there's nothing to live for, here. At least, in New York, people would fight if they were about to die. Here, it just felt like people were willing to give up.

It's sad, but I don't think too much on it. We get a room at a dingy motel right on the outskirts of town, and I sigh in irritation. People are always bound to talk, but I _really_ did not appreciate the way the owner was looking at me, because it looked like… well, it looked like he wanted to eat me.

And I just find that disturbing.

As soon as we got up to the room, I shoved the key into the key-hole, and shoved the door open. If I had to break the door into very small pieces to get in, I would.

Thankfully, I didn't have to go to those kinds of measures, but I basically dropped everything as soon as we were in, and plopped myself down on one of the beds, intent on a nice, long nap. Screw off, I was tired.

And so I slept.

I wasn't sure for how long, but it couldn't have been for more then a few hours, because, when I woke up, disoriented, and unsure just _who_ I was, the sun was setting, and the room was awash in bloody light. I cringed. I really have a love-hate relationship with the colour red. I love it, because it's just a pretty colour, but I associate it with all the wrong things.

While I was happily musing about nothing in particular, I tried to sit. Strangely, I couldn't. I looked down at the thing keeping me from moving, and was morbidly surprised to see an _arm_ across my waist, keeping my in place.

Uchiha was lying on the bed next to me, his breathing soft and slow, his arm tossed across my waist. I stared at him, so deep in sleep, as he was. He looked… _peaceful_. And then, of course, I realized who this was, and I shrieked, and pushed him away from me.

He landed on the ground with a muted thump, and plenty of colourful language. Bastard. Wait, that made me a hypocrite… oh well.

"There _is_ another bed," I hissed at him, looking down at him from my position on the bed above him. He _grinned_ up at me. What the hell?

"Princess, your shit was on the other bed. Where _else_ would I have slept?"

"I do not have _shit_, and you could have moved it. And I thought I told you not to call me that."

His voice went flat. "You would have beaten me for just _thinking_ of touching your stuff." He ignored my other comment, and I felt the hiss of anger, a pleasant buzz just beneath my skin, and I wanted to kick him again. I want to do that a lot, don't I? But, urgh, he's just so _annoying_. He was annoying, because he was _right_.

I flicked my stare to the digital clock sitting on the bedside table in between the two beds, avoiding Uchiha's steady gaze. It was almost six, according to the glowing red numbers, and I knew we ought to have been getting ready to go on patrol.

"Get up, and go get ready to go. I don't want Tsunade to be bitching because we're not doing our job."

He nodded, and heaved himself up off the floor. He stood, towering over me, as I was sitting on the bed, and he looked so far away, and so lonely, that for a second, part of my heart ached. I'll blame it on the weather.

He left, and went to get changed. I pulled myself out of the warm spot on the bed (don't you just hate that, when you have to get of a lovely, comfortable, warm spot? It's worse when someone makes you move, so they can have said spot. Grawr), and went and looked out the window.

The setting sun had turned the entire street the same colour as our room, if a little lighter, without the walls and that, and I smiled a little bitterly. I could already see it, see the blood the streets would be covered in after Uchiha _no-not-Uchiha-Sasuke-right?_ and I had finished our patrol. It would be even worse if it wasn't his blood or mine, it would be worse if it was some innocent's blood.

Because leeches don't bleed. They just turn to dust, and leave marks on the people who've been changed by them. Scars. Many, many scars. I rubbed my hand gently over the still-healing scars on my arm, left from my last meeting with a leech. And that's what I get for not paying attention.

Uchiha is at my side again, changed into civilian clothes, and he jerked his head towards the bathroom, indicating I should go get changed, too. I nodded, and whisked myself into the bathroom, grabbing my pack as I go.

I hate the fact that I have to wear a dress.

Tsunade specified it in the mission briefing. I needed to play the little lady, while we're on these missions (note the 's'. She hinted there may be more. Damn). Because, let's face it. _No one_ suspects the girl.

I strapped a miniature pair of handguns to the outside of my thighs, so high up that no one wouldn't be able to see them, even under the bloody dress (fuck, anger, I hate dresses), and then was about to zip up the dress.

To my great horror, however, I realized it didn't zip up. It _laced up_. Oh no. I groaned to myself. I'm not dexterous enough to lace it up on my own. Oh, god no. Why me?

I poked my head out of the bathroom, and called out softly. "Uchiha?"

"I have a name," was all he replied, not moving from his place on the bed.

I growled. "Fine. _Sasuke_. I need your help."

He blinked at me, and got up, and came over. It was only a few meters, but it seemed like it took him way too little time to cross that distance.

I sighed. "Could you lace my dress up? I can't do it on my own."

He nodded without saying anything, and I turned around, to let him do the work that I, sadly, could not. His fingers danced over my back, and I shuddered. What? His fingers were cold. Wait, why am I defending myself to no one? That doesn't make sense.

I mentally smacked myself. I really _was_ going crazy, wasn't I?

His voice (too perfect, too deep, too _unreal_) broke through my thoughts. He wasn't in my personal space, for once. "There."

"Thanks." I murmured, and slipped a fallen strap back onto my shoulder. "So, are we going to go?"

He nodded, his eyes not on my face. I didn't realize until later he had been staring at my bare shoulder.

---

Our cover was that we were a couple who was looking for a place to move into; and I think Tsunade was trying to tell us something, but I ignored it. No reason to give her false hope. I don't like Uchiha like that. Actually, I hardly like him at all.

But, let's face it, people would think it strange if they saw a couple walking down the street together, and they were _together_, or they looked it, and they weren't holding hands.

So our fingers were twined together, and I was mentally cursing my brains out. Of course, one of the parts of being a good hunter is the ability to pretend you don't know what's going on around you.

I really hate the cold, did you know that? I shivered, and Uchiha looked down at me. The concern on his face almost looked real. "Are you cold?"

I nodded, and was shocked when he pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. It's just an act, just an act, just like how we have to ignore the dead and the dying if we find out what's wrong with the leeches…

"I don't want you getting sick." He smirked down at me, and I wanted to kick him. He could be so damn angelic when he wanted to be, it was actually scary. But, if I kicked him, it would ruin this whole mission. People (leeches, to be more correct) needed to think we were blissfully in love. Even if we weren't. Especially considering we _aren't_.

"Mhmm…" I murmured and curled into him, as I had watched Anko curl into Kakashi on many occasions when they had been walking together. He didn't even look startled, he just wrapped his arm around me, and pulled me a little closer.

A shudder of disgust ran through me (or at least I think was disgust. I _hope_ it was disgust), and I murmured in his ear "You wanna keep your balls? Then this had better let up, before I freak the fuck out and kill you, understand?"

"Yes ma'am," he whispered back, for all appearances looking like he was whispering sweet nothings in my ear. Okay. I didn't even know I had the words 'sweet nothings' in my vocabulary. It's kind of gross. Ew. I didn't even know I had the word 'sweet' in my vocabulary at all, actually.

We walked down the street together, hand-in-hand, and I could feel eyes following us. Eyes, so many eyes, human and leech, followed us, and I knew that there would be a sort of training tonight.

"Uchiha, they're watching us… as soon as the sun's gone down all the way, we have leeches to kill."

He nodded. "Don't get yourself killed."

I smiled up at him, sunny and fake and _bored_, and then said "'Course not. You don't want to face Kakashi if I die, right?"

He nodded, bored too, and we stood at the end of the street, watching as the last rays on the sun disappear behind the horizon, waiting, just waiting…

---

I hissed, Uchiha behind me, as I turned the leech hiding behind a garbage can into Swiss cheese. It was past midnight, and I was getting tired. This was _taking too long_, and there were _too many_ of them. I was running out of bullets, and if I did, I would have to resort to the knives in my hair, and I really didn't want to have to do that.

Uchiha liked close-up-and-personal _way_ better then I did, and I watched him tear through another leech with some satisfaction. Watching _anyone_ kill those things is satisfying, even when it's not my own doing. Mwaha. I laughed to myself evilly, and then dashed around Uchiha so that I didn't shoot him in the head.

A brief moment of calm gave us both a chance to catch our breath. "Sakura, we have to get out of here. No one else is out at this time, and I don't think either of us can last much longer."

I nodded, sweat sticking my hair to my forehead, and we both expended the last of our energy moving as fast as we could getting out of there.

It didn't take us long to get back to the hotel, and we scaled the two-stories quickly. Once we were in, it didn't take us anytime at all to collapse on the bed, gasping for air.

"Let's not do that again, alright?"

He nodded, still taking deep gulps of air, but he didn't say anything for a moment. "Tsunade's right. There's something really weird going on here."

I stared at the ceiling. "Leeches don't like being in close proximity to each other, unless they're from the same blood-nest. It's rare to find that many leeches from different lines in the same area." I shook my head. "It's not _normal_, Uchiha."

"Princess, my name is Sasuke."

"I know that, but I prefer to call you Uchiha. And my name is Sakura, but you don't really call me that, either, do you?"

He half shrugged in the darkness, from what I could see. I was so tired… and there was plenty of time tomorrow to figure out just _what_ was going on with the leeches. Plenty of time to figure out just _why_ Uchiha insisted on being annoying. Plenty of time.


	7. Chapter 7

I still don't understand where this story came from… And I'm still listening to Breaking Benjamin. Can you guess which song I'm listening to?

**Disclaimer:** Still not mine.

**Dedication:** To Sara, because we not only share a name, we share a birthday! Weird, huh? (Actually, it's more like awesome.)

---

The second day was harder then the first. Neither of us woke up before noon, but, even then, there were empty hours we had to fill.

And I didn't really want to fill them talking to Uchiha, because that could causer me serious mental trauma. Spending so much time around one stupid person can do that do you, you know.

So I left early (one in the afternoon is not early, but… whatever), and wandered. I like wandering. It's nice.

I'm not stupid, and I was packing a silenced Glock in my bag, and it was full of bullets. Ever since the incident with Hinata, I never went anywhere without a full cartridge of bullets. It had never happened before, and it wasn't going to happen again. Blah.

I glared at the ground as I walked, when I should have been glaring around me. I had no idea where my feet were taking me, but I just let them go. I was totally zoned out, and I didn't realize how late it was getting.

Eventually, I bumped into some random person, and, in the process of knocking them over, I realized how long I'd been walking. I wasn't tired, not even close, but I knew I'd better get back. There's no telling what Uchiha would have done had, had I not been back before dark.

As it was, he freaked out.

"YOU STUPID BITCH, WHERE HAVE YOU _BEEN_?!" He stressed the last word, his anger at the world spilling over and onto me.

"Stop yelling at me." I was not amused by his stupidity. See, what did I tell you? Spending too much time around stupid people is bad for your health! And his voice level was getting on my already-frazzled nerves.

He took two, calming breaths, breathing through his nose, and I gave him an annoyed look. Seriously, the dude needed to calm down. When he looked calm enough to speak without yelling at me, I spoke. "Get dressed, you loser. I have things to do, places to go, leeches to kill. And you're _slowing me down_."

He glared at me furiously, and went to get changed. I smiled benignly at him as he passed (actually, it was the exact same smile Kakashi gives me when he's trying to play the innocent), and he paused and looked down at me.

Okay, okay, too close! I try slipping out from under his arm, while avoiding touching any part of his body. Of course, I forget that he had hands (I'm a stupid bitch… I don't even argue it anymore), and his fingers clamped around my wrist.

His touch sends needles of icy fire through my body, and I freeze _don't-touch-me-don't-touch-me-don't-touch-me-I'm-bad-for-you_. He just held me there, his fingers around my wrist, and I wasn't even facing him, so I couldn't see his face.

It was unfair.

I wrenched my hand out of his grip, and pulled it against my chest, cradling it there like he'd burn me. And really, in a way, the jerk had.

"Don't _touch_ me," was all I hissed out at him, and then I shoved past him into the bathroom and locked the door. He could change in the other room, I needed to hide right now.

Because I knew that if I saw his face, I would smack him so hard, he wouldn't be able to feel his cheek for a week. I was _not happy_ with the boy at the moment.

And then, of course, came the simpering apology. Well, Uchiha didn't _simper_, at the very least, but his voice was muffled through the door. "Princess, get out of there."

"Screw off!" I hissed at him. My hand still felt like there were needles running through it.

"Sakura, come out please."

"No. I refuse." He can kiss my ass if he wants to be like that.

"Sakura, either you come out, or I come in, and I don't think you'll like that."

I laughed sardonically at him. "Go ahead, break the door down. You'll be paying for the damages, not me, understand?"

I thought that would stop him. It didn't.

He kicked the door in.

The resulting crash made me shriek. I really hadn't thought he'd do that, for fuck's sake, _no one_ does that! _No one_ breaks down a door to _talk_ to someone! I stood up, my entire body simply fury, and I slapped him.

It snapped his head to the side, and it obviously took him by surprise. Satisfaction radiated through my being from a place close to my stomach (stomach? Why stomach?) and I glared at him.

"If you blame this on a lover's spat to the owner, I am going to kick you so hard, you won't be able to have children. And I'll do it in front of the entire world, whether you like it or not."

He smirked at me, and I groaned. I'd just given him an idea. I must remind myself to never ever speak to him again, because

He loomed over me, and I snarled up at him. "Uchiha, if you touch me again, I will make you feel _extreme_ pain."

"You can't hurt me if you can't move, princess." And then he backed me up against the sink.

Wow. This felt eerily familiar. Déjà vu, anyone? This time, though, both of my wrists were held in one of his (damn having small appendages), and he was smirking at me like there was no tomorrow.

"Get off me, you big oaf." Why did I pick the word 'oaf'? I have no idea. I'm just weird like that. Wait, why am I thinking things like this? _What the fuck is wrong with me recently_?!

"And what if I don't _want_ to move?"

"I'll knee you." My voice is rough, tinged with embarrassment, and my violence level was getting a little bit over the top. I wanted to _murder_ him.

"You still can't move, princess Sa-ku-ra." He drew my name out. I hated the fact that he was right. I hated that fact a lot of the time, when I think about it now.

I snarled something unintelligible at him (_I_ don't even know what it was I said… oh, the shame, the shame) and I tried to wrench my hands out of his grip again. It didn't work. He just kept me there, neither of us moving, daggers flying from my eyes.

And if looks could kill, he'd be _way_ more then six feet under the ground. He'd be at least double that. Or triple, depends on how much I hated him at that particular moment. There's no…nothing, here. Nothing at all.

And I'm not ready to die for him. I'm not ready to die for anyone.

I managed to push him away, and I got out from underneath his arm again. "Get changed. We go on patrol in half an hour," and then I went over to the bed, and plopped myself down, and flicked on the TV.

The shitty reception made me smile. It reminded me so thoroughly of how Kakashi liked to keep our TV at home, that it made me laugh softly to myself. Suddenly, I missed him and Anko so much that it hurt.

I laid back on the couch, crossed my arms under my head, and just listened to the muted rambling of the TV. I heard the shower turn on, and I felt like something was just about to break.

What was about to break though, I had no idea.

And I wouldn't know until it was too late.

---

I was burning paper I was so bored by the time Uchiha finally finished in the bathroom. God, he took longer showers then any girl I'd ever met, including myself, and _that_ was saying something. That half-hour-until-patrol-thing? Yeah, it went out the window.

Actually, no it went out the front door, and took the pagoda with it.

But it didn't matter right then, because I was wearing another hated dress (I despise dresses almost as much as I despise the cold. Leeches, the cold, and dresses. They're my top three most hated things. But Uchiha is working his way up, rest assured.), and Uchiha was glaring at me thoroughly.

I glared right back. "What? Is there something on my face?"

He just glowered at me. "Put some clothes on."

"_Excuse_ me?!" I voice ripped through a half-octave.

"Hn. Never mind."

Okay, now I _really_ wanted to kick him. So the dress was short, too short for my liking, actually, but how is that _my_ fault? Tsunade sent me off what she wanted to send me off with! How can he blame _me_ for that?

"Urgh. Whatever. Can we _go_ now?"

He nodded, still unhappy with the dress, obviously. What was his problem with it? I just growled at him every time he gave me a disapproving glare, and I eventually just flipped him off. He was getting on my nerves, and frazzling them even _more_ then they had been frazzled _before_. Grawr.

He shoved his hands into his pockets, and we left the room. Just before we reached the dingy lobby, his fingers curled around mine, and, just as we came into view of other people, I changed the snarl on my lips to a sappy smile.

The ice in my eyes though, that didn't change, nor did the resolve in his. I wasn't in the mood for Uchiha's bullshit right now. I didn't know what the resolution in his eyes was _for_, and I didn't _want_ to know.

Considering it was Uchiha, I didn't even _want_ to know. And that's a rare thing for me. I want to know everything.

Together we slipped out of the lobby, the receptionist still staring hungrily at me. I seriously did _not_ like that dude. He was a _creeper_. Uchiha sent him a scowl so fierce; I would not be surprised if the dude pissed his pants. Tee-hee.

The whole situation was exactly like it had been yesterday. Only, there was no sun today, no bloody red light, not even a fraction of the warmth I so craved. Damn. I hate the cold. Like, really. It is _despicable_.

We're out of the public eye tonight, in a side corner, watching as humans pass each other by. We stand here in the shadow of a dilapidated building, and I shiver because it's cold.

Uchiha drops his coat over my shoulders again. I blink up at him, astounded. No one was watching us here, so he had no reason to give it to me. I gawked at him. He was staring determinedly in the other direction. I shrugged to myself. He's a weirdo.

"You're not cold anymore, right?" he asked, softly _softly-softly-trying-not-to-catch-your-attention-softly_, and I nodded.

His jacket was warm. And I tried not to think about the fact that it was him, nor about the fact that it _smelled_ like him. And I'm sure I've mentioned how amazing he smells. It's absolutely _unreal_ how amazing he smells. Unfair.

Damn, he was being _nice_. Why can't he just be rude, and let me hate him all I want? Why does he have to be… _him_?! Why god, _why_?! But _of course_ he has to be annoying and jerk-ish and rude and sweet and frustrating all at the same time.

And, of course, he has no idea he's doing it, either. Boys are _so weird_.

I looked up at the sky, and noted that it was getting darker again. There were still clouds, no stars at all, and no moon. Not a good night to be out. Not as good night to be out especially if you were human.

'Blood will drain tonight', I thought to myself with a shudder. 'And people will _die_. And I can't _save_ them. It's not _fair_.'

"C'mon Uchiha, dance with the devil. Tomorrow we can start figuring out why there are so many leeches from different lines here. It's not normal, and it bothers me, but it's the only lead we've got."

He nodded once, and I skipped out into the open, putting a bullet through a very ugly leech's head. Ew, how had he even _survived_ this long? That doesn't make sense. I wanted to shoot him a few more times to make sure he was dead, but I didn't have the bullets or the time to waste.

I called over my shoulder to Uchiha "Meet you back here in an hour, okay?"

Either he didn't hear me, or he did, but I didn't hear a reply, so I took it as affirmation that he would, in fact, meet me back at this spot in hour.

I took off running. I was determined to 'exorcize' (Tsunade says I have to clean up my leech language, or at least make it more pleasant) at least enough to make a difference. They were all here, so why not have some fun while I was at it, right?

---

I giggled as I went, filling everything that had red eyes with holes as I ran past them. It was beyond late, and no humans were out. In the human news, there had been so many deaths in these parts that there had been a curfew installed, not that many heeded it.

But it was late enough (or early enough, depending on how you looked at it) that everything with a soul had gone to bed, and I was the only thing alive and awake for a good few miles.

Oh, wait, Uchiha, right. Forgot about him.

Oh, yeah, I was supposed to go meet him, wasn't I? I should probably get on that…

And then something went screaming past me, and I forgot all about Uchiha.

It was a girl, with rivulets of blood coursing down her neck. Oh, come _on_, that's not good! That meant… I hissed at myself. That meant that I hadn't been able to save this girl. And one of the leeches had been feeding. How could I have missed that? She tripped, and hit the pavement. I winced as I saw the asphalt-burn. That had to hurt.

I knelt down next to her. "Are you alright?"

She shook her head, no, and pointed behind me. I whipped around, and saw, to my great delight, a leech. Yay!

He was wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, and his eyes were wild and crazy. The bloodlust in them was unmistakable. But when he turned his eyes on _me_, it was like the bloodlust in them hit a wall. Bloody hell, what's _he_ doing here?!

"Hello, Hatake's evil spawn, how are you?"

I kept my Glock trained on his head, and I smiled menacingly (or so I hope) at him. "Hello there, Silver, I've been fine. What's it been like without Argent?"

He snarled at me as his previous mate's name rolled off my lips. I'd 'exorcized' her, on a previous mission, when Kakashi and Anko and I had been in New York. Why does the worst stuff always happen in New York? Although, considering, meeting Silver here isn't a good thing… Silver always shows up in the places where there's the most leech activity, because he likes annoying people. He certainly likes annoying _me_, the bastard.

He hissed out "One day, small one, you too will understand what it's like to lose the one you adore the most, the one you planned to spend eternity with. Argent will be avenged when you lose that which is most precious to you."

I spat at him. "Argent was trying to feed off my _mother_. If I hadn't killed her, Kakashi _would_ have, and then come after you, too. So piss off Silver, before I put a hole through your head."

He, strangely, half-smiled at me. "RedCard was right. That fire of your's has gotten stronger. It's too bad the last Uchiha killed him; he was a good friend."

"Your kind doesn't _have_ friends, Silver. You have servants, and you know it. Now get out of my sight. Actually, wait, I have a question. Why are you here? You only show up in places where the shit is about to hit the fan. Care to tell?"

"Very sorry, evil spawn, that's not a question I'm at liberty to answer that question of yours. I'll take my leave, now."

I shot at him, just as he said it, but by the time the bullet got to where his head had been, he had already turned into mist. I muttered ungratefully under my breath. I hated everyone from his line; they had this bad habit of disappearing when I was just about to kill them. Sigh. And how dare he call me evil spawn?!

I walked back over to the girl, and gently helped her up. The bleeding from her neck had stopped, and I checked the wound carefully. I wouldn't touch her, though, until I knew for sure that she'd not taken any of his blood in return.

"Did he force you to drink anything?"

She shook her head, her eyes wide and fearful. I sighed in relief. Leeches don't turn other people into leeches by the _bite_. No, they change humans by making them drink the immortal blood that flows through their vein. It's strange, because there is definitely blood _in_ them, but they never bleed. Actually, it's really weird, now that I think about it.

"Okay, good. C'mon, get up. Do you live near here?"

She nodded, and pointed to a house across the street. I blinked. Why had she been out so late? As if hearing my unasked question, she blushed and murmured "I was out getting some cough medicine for my brother. He's really sick, and I wanted him to get some sleep."

I nodded, and sent her home. She still had the medicine on her, so she'd be fine. But I warned her against going outside late at night. "Bad stuff's happening, and not even we know why. So don't go outside when it's cloudy or when it's dark, 'kay?"

She nodded, and I sent her off. She'd be fine, I thought, and I went to find Sasuke.

When I did eventually find him, I winced at the tone of his voice. It was two in the morning, and I was _tired_. "Uchiha, you can yell at me tomorrow, okay? I'm about to fall over, I'm so tired."

"You said _an hour_, Sakura. Do you have any idea-"

I cut him off. "Yeah, yeah, Kakashi would have killed you if anything had happened to me, I know, I know. Can we go now? I'm about to fall over."

I was so exhausted, even walking was taking its toll on me. I knew I'd probably sleep the day away tomorrow, but that was an unfortunate side effect of staying up all night. I stumbled, right myself, and kept walking.

I stumbled a second time, the ground yawning up at me, and I winced and waited to feel the impact of me hitting said ground, but it never came. Uchiha had grabbed me as I was falling, and thrown me over his shoulder. Again.

I hate him. So much. It's not even funny anymore.

"Put. Me. Down. _Now_." I growled out at him, unhappy with this predicament.

"No."

"Uchiha, put me down, you fucker!" I beat my fists pointlessly against his back, and eventually gave up. I'm no lightweight, and the fact that he was carrying and extra hundred pounds could _not_ be nice.

Mwahaha. I laugh evilly at him, inside my head of course. Don't want everyone thinking I'm totally insane. We've already got _plenty_ evidence of _that_.

When we finally got back to the hotel, I was yawning so hard that I couldn't really see where I was walking. Uchiha put me down (gently again, too. Why must he be so _nice_?!), and let me scale the wall first.

It was so tiring, because I was already so close to passing out, I didn't even realize that Uchiha waited until I was in the room's window to come up. He gave me the opening to lock the window on him, figuring that I'd be too tired to lock it on him. He was right.

I collapsed on the bed, exhaustion taking over the little that was left of my sanity. I didn't even change out of the hated dress, I just crawled under the covers, closed my eyes, and fell asleep.

I didn't even feel it when Uchiha crawled in next to me.


	8. Chapter 8

O.o Wow. Lots of reviews. YAY. Oh, and I went to a coffee house garage-band gig thing. It was cool. And it had good coffee. I like coffee. And I'm still listening to Phobia. Still.

I want a bullet belt for my seventeenth. Does anyone love me?

**Disclaimer:** Really, it's not mine.

**Dedication:** To my little sister Emma (you may know her as chocokittens). GLOMP. I love you, hun!

---

I woke up the next morning, curled up next to something big and soft and hard (how does _that_ work?) and warm, and very, very, _very comfortable_. I like my pillow. The light coming in through the window was unwelcome, and I groaned, and dug my head into this wonderful, wonderful pillow. I hate mornings.

I growled when my pillow moved. How dare it move? I need to-

Wait.

Pillows aren't _alive_. They _don't move_.

I gulped, and inched away from my 'pillow', my eyes still closed. No, please don't do this to me. Not again.

I cracked my eyes open, and light filtered into my world. I groaned, and shut them again. I'd rather deal with Uchiha asleep next to me (which he _was_…) then deal with sunlight, right now. Uchiha, at the very least, doesn't try to wake me up. Sunlight does.

A few seconds later, I opened them again, and found Uchiha staring intently at me. I wanted to shriek, and push him off the bed again, but I didn't. I just sighed. I was still too exhausted to fight with him, right now. I even decided to call him by his name, just to see if it would help.

"Sasuke, get off my bed."

"No. It's warm."

Okay, screw it. I had the energy to push him off the bed. So I did.

Or, at least, I tried. I didn't realize how tightly we were wound together, until I tried to move. I pulled my body away from his by the fraction of the inch that was keeping us together, and noted several things.

First, our legs were tangled together in ways I didn't even want to _think_ about, incase I turn beet red from the thought process. Second, up until a minute ago, I had been curled up next to him, quite comfortably, too. And third, he was starting to _crush me_. He had just rolled slightly, and now not only couldn't I move, I couldn't _breathe_. Damn you to hell, Uchiha!

"Agh! Lemme go!"

Hr smirked at me, and continued to crush me.

"No-o-o-o I can't _breathe_, Uchiha! Get off of me-e-e-e!!!"

He pulled off of me, but that didn't mean he moved away. No, the bastard just held himself an inch off my body, just enough that he didn't crush me. And then I realized that he wasn't exactly wearing a shirt.

Why me?!

And now I didn't _want_ to breathe. It was suddenly overrated, in my mind. Well, I did the only thing that made sense, then. I probably shouldn't have done it, but I was freaking out. I really disliked having people in my bubble. I _especially_ disliked having Uchiha in my personal bubble.

I knocked my head forward, and slammed my forehead into his nose. I didn't hear the sickening snap I expected, and he hissed instead of howled but it made him roll off me onto the floor anyways.

Damn. And I had hoped to break his nose. Oh well. Sigh. I peeked over the edge of the bed, and was instantly reminded of the day before yesterday's morning.

He was holding his nose, but he was looking up at me. "What makes you tick, Sakura?"

I blinked at him. Why was he asking that _now_?! Shouldn't he be, oh, I don't know, worried about his nose? There was blood trickling out of it, after all.

"You should probably get that cleaned up. Don't tip your head back, you idiot, you'll bleed into your brain!" I had no idea whether that was right or not, but it had never made sense to me to tip your head backwards to stop a bleeding nose.

He complied, and the two of us sat there in perfect silence until, a few minutes later, the bleeding stopped. I handed him a tissue, the third one in five minutes. He took, and I was careful not to touch his skin.

Because just thinking about how much his touch hurt yesterday made me very wary of him. My hand tingled softly as I remembered it, and I pulled all my appendages closer to my body in retaliation. He got up and went to get cleaned up, but I just sat there on the bed, thinking. No, not thinking, _dreaming_. Thinking is for people with nothing better to do.

A little later, Uchiha came back out, and sat down on the other bed across from me. Good boy, keep your distance, or I might just hurt you again, hmm?

He grabbed our mission file, and pulled a bunch of paper and a pen out of it, before saying "Why didn't you show up earlier last night?"

I gave him a crow's shrug, pulling one shoulder up, and then flopping it back into place. "I was having fun. I'm still not used to working with a partner, and I'm not sorry about it. I saved a chick life's in exchange for being later, sor-ry."

His eyes flashed. "Saved a girl's life, huh?"

"Yeah. And Silver showed up."

"Explain." The single word said that he knew Silver.

I half-smiled. "Silver was feeding off some chick, or at least had started to. I guess she threw him off, because she came blowing past me, and he chased after her. Silver's never been one to let prey go."

I paused, and took a breath. I hated the fact that I needed to breathe. Blah.

"Silver and I have a nice, long, bloody history together. And we hate each other a lot."

"Why?"

"Tsunade probably told you about it. Two and a half years ago, I killed Silver's mate, Argent. He wasn't very happy with me when he found out, to put it mildly."

He blinked. "Why'd you kill the mate?"

I let a snarl mar my lips as I thought of it. "Because I caught the bitch trying to feed on Anko, and that's not something I'm willing to forgive. Leeches took my first family; they weren't going to take my second."

He nodded, deep in thought. "Why did this Silver show up here?"

I gave him another crow's shrug. "I dunno. But Silver only shows up in places where something _big_ is about to happen, y'know? He's from one of the oldest, strongest lines. And every time we've met since, I've come _this_ close to killing him."

I stopped with a huff. "He has this annoying habit of disappearing when I'm just about to win."

He blinked at me. "He _disappears_?"

I nodded, still thoroughly annoyed by the memory. "Literally, he just… fades away. Turns into mist. I'm not sure how he does it. I don't think it comes from his line, or Argent would have gotten away. I think it has something to do with the fact that he's _him_."

I stopped, again, and thought. "Well, his full name is actually QuickSilver, so it might be that he got his name from that weird disappearing act he does."

He nodded slowly, and I noted that he was writing on one of the sheets. Was he doing a mind-map? What the hell? "What're you _doing_?"

He shrugged. Why are we both _shrugging_ so much? "I'm taking note of the vampires that take an interest in you. QuickSilver, RedCard… you have a knack for finding the most dangerous being in an area, and bothering them, princess.

I glared at him. "Don't be rude."

He shook his head. "I'm not being rude, your Highness, I'm telling the truth. Tsunade had been looking for RedCard for _months_ before you showed up, and when I say 'looking', I mean 'making us skip class to find the thing'. And then you appear, and you find him on your, what, second day?"

I mumbled under my breath "It was my fifth."

But he just shook his head. "There's something about you, Sakura, that draws dangerous things close. I don't know what it is, but I have proof."

"Really, and what is that?" I asked him, still annoyed. He has weird, stupid theories.

"Sitting right here. I don't normally tolerate people, princess. I was pissed when Tsunade first told me that we were going to be partners, even before you were here."

I blinked. We'd been partnered _before_ I got here? How was _that_ possible? I relayed this to him, and he just shrugged. He didn't know, either.

"I think it has to do with the fact that neither of us can work with anyone else," he murmured softly.

"What?"

"I normally can't work with anyone - none of my partners have lasted longer then a few days."

"Go on."

He sighed. "Either they're annoying, or they're weak, or they're just useless in general. The only person who lasted was Naruto, and that's only because we've known each other a long time."

"We've only been partnered for technically three days."

"Four."

"Stop being so picky, you ass."

"It's still four days, princess."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Anyways, how did we even get on this topic? I thought we were supposed to be finding out why there are leeches around."

He nodded, and said "Go get changed. We're going out to find whatever we can."

"Okie pokie," I said, and went to get changed. When we were away from each other, when I was out of ear shot, I whispered something that had been bothering me into the still air. I hoped he didn't hear it.

"I don't think you're dangerous at all."

---

We were walking down the street, and I was _carefully-carefully-carefully-don't-attract-attention-to-us_ leading him down to the street where I'd met Silver. I didn't think that there was much there, but… maybe I could talk to that girl, and ask her to show us where she'd first met Silver.

It was the only lead we had, and we were both desperate. Uchiha and I hated each other, but we hated this place more.

We reached the street from last night quickly enough, and I went to the house she'd pointed out. I couldn't really remember her features, but that didn't matter. I knocked on the door, and I heard someone yell "Just a sec!"

Then the door was tossed open, and I was staring at the girl from last night. Our eyes met, and she flushed.

"O-Oh, it's you!"

I nodded, and smiled. Uchiha, brooding next to me, was _not helping_ our case! "Yeah, from last night. My name's Sakura Hatake. I need to ask you some stuff."

She nodded rapidly. "Of course! My name's Emma, come in!" She ushered me in, and I pulled Uchiha in behind me. She looked a little surprised, but she didn't say anything when I kicked him to stop his brooding.

I slipped my shoes off, and followed the girl called Emma into the kitchen. Uchiha followed at a safe distance (or rather, it was a distance that I couldn't _kick_ him) behind me.

When we got into the kitchen, Emma was fluttering about, making… tea? O-kay, too polite for me. "Emma, sit down, we don't need anything, but thanks anyways."

She nodded rapidly again, and gestured to the table. The three of us sat down, and just as I was about to open my mouth, a violent coughing caught our attention. Emma's eyes flashed something in between sadness and anger, and she stood up, grabbed something that looked like medicine off the counter, and rushed off.

I'm a curious person, and I know it's bad to snoop, but I don't care. I followed her, and pulled a catatonic Uchiha with me.

She got up the stairs faster then any normal person should have been able to, and she went into a room right on the left as soon as one got up the stairs. The two of us followed her.

I was shocked when I poked my nose into the room.

It looked like a hospital room, with huge machines and wires running _everywhere_. It was actually kind of scary. I don't like hospitals much. Doctors are _creepy_. And, in the middle of it all, was a bed. And in that bed was a little boy.

My heart caught in my throat.

He couldn't have been more then seven years old, and even seven seemed to be estimating a little high. The kid was _tiny_. He had messy brown hair, and I couldn't really see the colour of his eyes, but that didn't matter, because he looked _sick_.

Emma was gently helping him drink something, a look of motherly worry on her face. "Shh, I know it's gross, just drink it. You'll get better if you drink it."

He looked up at her, implicit trust written on his features. She was his older sister, and he trusted her to keep him safe. He looked like he was _dying_. My heart clenched, and I felt a sob try to pull it's way out of my stomach. It wouldn't do to cry here, so I held it in.

The kid dropped off to sleep soon after that, and Emma turned around and looked at us. She smiled tightly; her eyes full of a grief so huge, I didn't understand it. I'd never experienced an emotion so vast that it took up my very life; this looked like it took more then her life, it took her soul.

She motioned that we ought to leave, and she closed the door behind her very quietly. I still wanted to cry. That poor little boy…

When we got back down to the kitchen, she smiled at us again. It was so broken, so sad, that I hugged her impulsively. She looked surprised, but she hugged me back. Poor girl. She allowed herself a few more seconds to let the grief swamp her, and then she spoke. "You wanted to ask me something?"

I nodded, but I was… unable to speak. I still couldn't believe what I'd just seen. Uchiha supplied my words for me. "Yes. It was about last night."

I'd gotten control of myself, and I took up from where he'd left off. "You know the thing that bit you? Where did you meet him?"

Her fingers instinctively curled around her neck, around the place where I knew the bite marks were hiding. She was wearing a scarf, but it didn't stop her from protecting the weak point. "I met him outside the bar, next to the store where I'd just bought the squirt's medicine."

I nodded. " I take it he offered to take you home?"

She affirmed it. "He did, but something in my stomach told me not to trust him. So I told him to screw off, and started to go home. Then suddenly I was being chased, and he ended up catching me just a block from here. He bit me…" her fingers strayed to her neck again, "I kneed him in the balls, and then I just ran towards home. And then I met… you."

I nodded again. I was about to ask something else, but the words pushed themselves out. "What's wrong with your brother? He looks… so sick."

She smiled unhappily. "They don't know what's wrong with him. His body doesn't absorb nutrients the way it should, and so he's very weak, and he never stops coughing. He's better today then he was yesterday; but it's never enough, you know?"

I nodded slowly.

"Don't you have parents?" Uchiha asked, and I was shocked he'd even spoken.

She glared at him. "Do you think I'd be in this situation if I _did_? The only reason we're staying afloat is because the hospital is very interested in this case, and they're supporting us. But that's not really your concern, is it?"

I turned around and kicked him. How could he ask something so insensitive?! I kicked him a second time for good measure.

A smirk crossed the girl's lips, and we chatted for a few more minutes, about different recipes for chicken noodle soup (I quickly scribbled down the one Anko had taught me; it was the only thing I _could_ cook, and I gave it to her), and then Uchiha and I took our leave. I didn't want to hurt the poor girl by what was going to happen next.

As soon as we got out of the house, the tears started to fall. I didn't know how long I'd held them in, and I _never_ cried, but the trust on that little boy's face had broken me so thoroughly that I simply broke down and cried right there.

Uchiha wrapped his arms around, and pulled me into a park, and sat me down on a bench, and just let me cry against his shoulder. "It'd not fair, Uchiha. Why him?"

"I know princess, I know."

I forced myself to stop crying _you-weak-weak-weak-little-girl_, and glared fiercely at the ground. "If Silver had drained Emma, that boy would be dead by now, right?"

I felt, rather then saw, him nod.

"We have to figure this out, Uchiha, for them. Maybe we can get them to safety? Maybe?" my breathing was ragged with hope as I asked. But then I remembered Tsunade's words. "This is a drop-everything situation, Sakura."

They rang painfully in my ears, and I wanted to _scream_. People should not have to _die_. They should not have to be _sick_. They should not have to feel _pain_. The shouldn't have to _feel_, for fuck's sake!

But they do. It's what keeps them human. I shuddered against Uchiha's side, and he wrapped his arm around me shoulders. And suddenly, it didn't matter that he was annoying or that I was bad or anything.

Suddenly, I was just a girl, and he was just a guy, and he was wiping away my tears, and so I kissed him on the mouth.

I stopped caring, then, that I was supposed to hate him. I stopped caring that Tsunade and Anko were going to do the 'I told you so!' dance. I even stopped caring that Kakashi might try to kill Sasuke for so much as touching me.

I stopped _caring_.

I stood up, determination a hard resolve in my features. Sasuke (he was going to be Sasuke for the rest of eternity, I guess) followed suit, but he didn't touch me. He still seemed a little dazed that I'd kissed him in broad daylight, when I knew who he was.

He stood beside me, and we just looked at each other. It wasn't deep or anything. It was just… looking.

And then I reached out across the distance between us _it-seemed-so-far-away-away-away_, and I linked our pinkies.

It wasn't intimate, and it wasn't important in a lot of ways, but at the same time, it was _very_ intimate, and it was _very_ important, in every way that counted. He half-smiled at me, and I almost expected him to hug me, but he didn't.

But he didn't pull his hand away, either.

---

I didn't cling, and he didn't keep me too close, but the people we'd seen over the last few days looked at us strangely. I guess we weren't keeping the façade up well enough as we walked through the streets. Maybe it was because we weren't holding hands, or maybe it was because I looked like I'd been crying.

All of this was true, but I don't think that was the reason they were looking at us strangely. I think they were staring at us strangely was because the aura of hostility I always carried with me had dispersed.

And I was pretty sure that the ice in my eyes when it came to Sasuke had melted. I was so tired. It had been a long day, but it wasn't over yet.

We still had to go to the bar where Emma had met Silver, but I really didn't want to. What I wanted to do was go curl up in bed, and get some sleep. I didn't care anymore, you know?

"Sasuke…" I said softly, tugging on his shirt sleeve. Damn. I feel like a fucking two-year-old. He looked down at me, with a raised eyebrow. "Can't this wait until tomorrow? I'm so tired… I've been more tired then I've been in my entire life," I whispered, but he just shook his head with a smirk.

"You'll feel better once you're shooting something."

I perked up. Oh, he was right… I couldn't be tired when there were leeches around to kill! Yay!

So off we went to the bar, and as soon as we were there, I knew it was a blood bar. Blood bars… they have this rotten look to them, like they shouldn't be allowed to exist. And, to those who can see it, it looks like blood.

I don't know why, but if there was a picture that said 'blood', it would be hanging right there on the door. And this place smelled of death. Leeches are just damn evil like that. Screw them.

"It's a blood-" Sasuke's hand wrapped itself over my mouth, and he pulled me into an alley, keeping me against his chest. I didn't move, because I knew he wouldn't have done that for without reason to, but still. He didn't have to be so rude!

"Sakura, don't _move_."

I didn't like the fear in his voice. I didn't move.

For the next few minutes, we stayed there, stock still, not moving an inch. Finally, Sasuke let go of me, and I turned to look at him.

"Princess, let's get out of here. I think I know what's gotten into the vampires here. And if I'm right, we need to get out of here, _now_, or we're going to _die_."

I blinked, and then nodded. "Okay, let's go."

He grabbed my hand, and then we were moving faster then I'd ever moved in my entire life. We got back to the hotel in record time, and I watched in something like amazement as Sasuke was zooming around the room, throwing everything into the bags we'd brought with us.

I don't get it. What's gotten into him? I watched him shove the dress from the first night into my bag, and I let him do it with some satisfaction. I hated that dress. It had to die.

He grabbed my hand, and pulled me out of the now-empty-of-our-things room, and he dragged me to the elevator. He paid in cash, and I still don't know how much it was, but he was desperate to get us out of the there.

The creeper of a receptionist smiled sadistically at me, and I shivered. I _really_ don't like this guy. Why does he always look at me like I'm something to _eat_?! And just as I was about to smack him for looking places he shouldn't, Sasuke finished paying, and he grabbed me by the wrist, and we were out of there faster then anything.

He basically put me in the passenger seat of the rental car, tossed our luggage in the back seat, and then jumped into the driver's seat.

We were on the road faster then should have been possible, and the farther away we got from there, the easier Sasuke was able to breath. I knew, because I could hear his breathing rate slowing down.

I still didn't get it. What the fuck?

"Sasuke, what the hell's going on?"

"Not right now, princess, I don't want to think about it. I need to confirm something first."

I blinked. O-kay… This was going to be interesting, I could already tell.


	9. Chapter 9

The hell, this entire story has been written to Breaking Benjamin… And also to Blink-182's 'I Miss You'.

**Disclaimer:** _Still_ not mine.

**Dedication:** Once again, to Emma-chan, because she let me use her name. Bahaha.

---

We got back to HQ not long after that. Sasuke took me in by a different route then the usual shitty-door route, and we ended up in front of some huge building. I raised a skeptical eyebrow at it.

"And just where the hell are we?"

"The main building."

"Are you shitting me? We didn't have to go through that fucked up-" He covered my mouth again, the bastard.

"This is our emergency line, princess. None of us come here unless there's a seriously dangerous thing around. And what we're fighting is something I think none of us are prepared for."

I blinked at him. Since when has he been _talking_ so much? It's _really_ weird. "Fine. So it's an emergency. Then what the hell is all the secrecy about?"

He shook his head, and said nothing.

It set me to steaming, because I dislike being denied information, and part of me wanted to kick him for it. It tends to get on my nerves. I think it gets on everyone's nerves, honestly, if only because not knowing is _annoying_.

And if there is one thing I know, it's that humans are a curious, odd lot of creatures who might actually hate the fact that you know something they don't more then they might hate what it is they don't know.

This is very true of both me and Anko.

While I was pondering this, Sasuke had grabbed my wrist, and dragged me inside the building. I didn't even notice until my eyes registered the change in scenery, from gritty asphalt-and-concrete to serene marble-and-granite.

What the hell, what _was_ this place? Granite doesn't come cheap, and marble even less so. And this interior of this entire place seemed to be made of it. It was sparkly and clean and white _glossy-pretty-untainted-white_, and I didn't like it one bit.

I'm not a sparkly, clean, white kind of person. I like being dirty. It's more fun. And, considering my job keeps me dirty and flat and black, its better that way.

I'm not clean. I've killed too much to be clean.

I like musing. I wasn't paying attention to where Sasuke pulled me; I just let him direct me wherever the hell he wanted to direct me. There was much to be said for not caring.

I blinked when I noted another change in scenery. The white-granite-and-marble had changed, once again, to paint-steel-and-gild this time. It had a nice, calm, soothing look about it, and I instantly disliked it.

A place that houses us _saviors-sometimes-some-call-us-killers-destroyers_ should not be so calm. A place that houses us should be just as we are. Gritty and fucked up and sad and tired and lost and every other bad emotion anyone has ever felt, that's the hunters.

And I am one of those gritty, fucked up, sad, tired, lost, and every other bad emotion hunters. I don't belong here, and I know it. It's too safe _safety-is-for-those-who-have-lost-everything-else_, I think.

We were standing in front of the door just then, and just as Sasuke was about to open, I tugged on his shirt sleeve. He looked at me, and I linked our pinkies again. There was something about this place that scared me.

I just couldn't put my finger on what it was that was bothering me so badly. He half-smirked at me, and didn't let go. He didn't try to link the rest of our fingers, and I was happy with that. I was still unsure about exactly where we stood.

And holding hands right now would probably _not_ be the best way to influence my decision.

He was reaching for the door handle again, when Tsunade tossed the doors open, and stomped out, fuming. As soon as she saw us, though, her look changed from fury and terror to extreme relief, to something like shock, then calculating (why calculating? _That_ couldn't be good…), then back to relief.

"Tsunade, what's with the stick up your ass?" She glared at me for my comment, but threw her arms around me anyways, and sighed into my shoulder, effectively breaking my contact with Sasuke.

"Sakura, I was so worried about you!"

I blinked, and gently pried her death grip off of me. "Tsunade, _why_ were you worried about me? You know I can take care of myself! It wasn't anything out of the ordinary; well, it was, but-"

Sasuke cut me off. "Tsunade, we have a problem."

She let me out of the death-grip-hug-glomp (thank you god!), and looked at Sasuke curiously. "Did you find anything out?" she asked, but even as she did, she didn't let me go.

"Yes."

Her eyes widened, and she let me go completely. "Report."

He shook his head. "Not here."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Sasuke, I said _report_."

"And I said _not here_. Tsunade, this has to do with-"

She cut him off. Ha. Revenge is sweet. Especially after all the times he's cut me off the last few days. "I don't care what it has to do with, Kaeleo. _Report_."

His eyes took on a glazed look, and he didn't even glare at her. "There is a congregation there, made up solely of the noble families, the aristocrats of our world. I have no idea why, but this girl said she met Silver there, and I saw Kieran. Neither of them was exorcized, and for that, I am glad. The noble lines continue to exist."

I didn't like the way Tsunade had lost every last bit of colour in her face. And who was Kieran? And who was he to call me 'this girl'?! And why… why was he saying _our_?

"Uh, hello? Out of the loop, here! And would like to be informed!"

"Sakura, you met Silver there?" Tsunade asked.

"We exchanged pleasantries, yes. I'd forgotten how annoying the bastard is, actually. And he got away from me. _Again_. And who's this Kieran?"

Tsunade grimaced, and Sasuke still had the glazed look in his eyes. It scared me, but now was not the time to think about it. "You know that Silver is considered royalty in the vampire world, correct?"

I nodded. Another reason I hate him so much. How could one so annoying be _royal_?

"Kieran was originally considered as a political match for Silver. She's from another very powerful, very royal line, and it would have happened. But then Silver met the girl who would be changed to Argent, and…"

"And he changed Argent because he fell in _love_ with her, yeah, I know." I spat out. 'Love' is not a word I associate with leeches all that often. "But I didn't know that leeches had political alliances."

She shook her head, but just as she was about to speak, Sasuke spoke for her, his eyes still glazed. "We don't, not often. Not unless there is a need. And there was. Silver should have realized that without Kieran, and the children that alliance could have produced, there was no chance of winning this war."

Did he just say _we_?! What's with the personal possessive, there?

Tsunade smacked him, hard, over the top of his head. "Get out of his mind, Kaeleo. No one wants you there, anyways," she growled.

Sasuke laughed bitterly. "Do you think I _wish_ to remain here, oh liege and commander of mine? No, I do _not_. Had I the choice, I would have left this boy," the word was filled with resentment "A long time ago."

Tsunade smacked him harder, and then the glaze left his eyes. Sasuke shook his head experimentally, as if ridding himself of water. A few more shakes, and he seemed himself.

Okay. I was confused out of my mind. What was going on here?!

Obviously, Tsunade picked up on my blatant confusion, because she sighed, and said "You're right, this isn't a good place to speak freely. Let's go see Anko and Kakashi, hmm? Sakura, go find Hinata and Naruto. There are things all of you need to hear."

I blinked. Was she _dismissing_ me? "Are you sure, Tsunade?"

"Yes," she said irritably "Right now, as well. This isn't something that can wait."

I took my dismissal unhappily, but I did take it. I wanted to understand just what was going on here, but Sasuke seemed to understand what was going on, and I trusted Tsunade. She would tell me in her own good time, but, until then, I had better go before she blew up and killed me.

I left the paint-steel-and-gild room, closing the door with a quiet 'keh-chick' as the lock closed behind me. I didn't understand what I was leaving, but I knew it couldn't be good.

---

I was walking through sunlight when I found Hinata. I like the sun. It's nice. It's the life-giving organ that keeps the world alive. Just like the human heart, everything else in the solar system revolves around it. It's also the only thing that keeps leeches inside on days like these.

I found her sitting on a bench, her eyes closed. She looked pretty, the way she was sitting, so relaxed and easygoing. I shook my head to myself. Anyone who thought that Hinata was relaxed was kidding themselves, because I could see her eyes flicking backwards and forwards underneath her closed lids, checking for movement.

I smirked to myself. She'd learned quickly. "Hey, Hinata!" I called to her, and her eyes shot open, and she stared at me, surprise gaping her mouth. She'd not known that I was back, then, I guess.

"Sakura!"

"Hinata, where's Naruto? We need to find him, and get to this huge building in the middle of downtown, _right now_."

She blinked. "You mean the emergency place downtown? Why?"

"Because something _big_ has happened, and Tsunade sent me to get you and Naruto."

Her eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Why didn't she just-, oh, whatever, I'm calling Naruto, and tell him to get down there."

"Hinata, tell him to be as fast as he can. There's something wrong with Sasuke; Tsunade kept calling him Kaeleo for some weird reason… And he was talking like he was leech."

Her eyes went wide as dinner plates. "Oh no, no, he couldn't have. Sakura, tell me you're lying."

"Why would I lie about something like this? Hinata, you know as well as I do that I like to tell lies that will be believed. And I've never heard of Kaeleo before; who's he?"

She just shook her head. "Not here." And then she jumped up, and grabbed my wrist, and we were running back downtown as fast as either of us could go.

Why do the people here like pulling me along, and _not telling me important things_?! It's infuriating! But Hinata wouldn't do something like this just to make me mad. Sasuke might, but not Hinata.

So we kept running, until we got back to opening with the shitty door, and in we went. Naruto was already there, his blond hair and tan skin looking sickly in the yellow incandescent light.

It was eerie, because as soon as we were in, the three of us were ushered into another room, followed by three masked men. The back of my neck started to prickle, and I could feel the my short hair standing on end. I checked that all of my weapons were in place.

Then Tsunade came rushing in, dragging a catatonic Sasuke with her (just as I had so many times), and I wondered what I'd been worried about in the first place. I may not have trusted the others, but Tsunade? She'd never do anything to hurt me.

And then, to my surprise, Anko and Kakashi came in, followed by all the grownups I'd grown up knowing. Shizune and Genma, and Kurenai and Asuma came in, followed by Gai. Oh, god no. If Gai was here, then that meant Lee. And Lee scared me, to be quite honest. He was just so… over the top, is the best way I can put it.

But why were they here?

Of course, Shizune and Kurenai glomped me as soon as they saw me. The both said it was because they hadn't seen me in so long, but I knew that _that_ particular said thing was bullshit. They're both like older sisters to me, and they like annoying me. Blah.

"Agh! No! Get offa meee!!! Anko, HELP ME!!!"

She didn't.

After I'd freed myself from their grasps, I hid behind Hinata. I had no desire to be picked up and tossed around like a rag doll, as I knew both Genma and Asuma would do if they got the chance. Hell, they might even toss me to each other like a football. They've done it before, that's for sure.

When they saw me, both of their faces cracked into evil, identical grins. I gulped, and was preparing myself to be off the ground, but Tsunade stopped them, no thanks to Kakashi or Anko, who just laughed. Evil adults.

Tsunade cleared her throat, and the room went deadly quiet.

"It's begun," was all she said, and six sharp intakes of breath indicated that the adults in the room already knew what was going on.

Screw. It. I'd had enough of this vague we're-not-telling-you-anything-because-it's-not-a-good-place-to-do-it shit. I slammed my fist against the wall, splitting the skin. Pain prickled through me, but I ignored it. This was _not_ the time to be a baby.

"Tell me. Right now. _What's going on_?!"

Tsunade sighed, and looked me over with tired eyes. "This will take some time to explain. Anko, I'm relying on you to take the girls back to where Sakura and Sasuke were. Keep the people there safe."

Anko nodded sharply, turned, and left. Both Kurenai and Shizune followed her without comment. Kakashi snarled as he watched them go, and both Asuma and Genma looked strained.

Tsunade looked at Kakashi, sighed, covered her eyes, and said "All three of you, go. You're of no use to me if you're too busy being worried about your other halves. That means it'll be up to the kids."

They, too, nodded sharply, and were gone. I blinked. Kakashi had never been fond of leaving Anko, but I'd never seen him so tense about something. There were so many over-lapping stories here, I think I'd never be able to sift through them all to find what I needed to.

"Sakura, Hinata," Tsunade said softly, and I whipped my head up, and looked her in the eye. Hinata, standing beside me, did so as well.

"You two girls may very well be our only hope. You're young, female, and hot-blooded. I need you."

I hardened my eyes. "First, you have to explain what the fuck is going here, Tsunade, because I don't get it, and unless I do, I will sit down, and refuse to move until you tell me. And I'll make sure Hinata is incapacitated, too."

She groaned. "You are too much like Anko. I never should have left you with her. But… urgh. I can't even tell it right. Uchiha. Tell her."

I blinked, and tilted my head at Sasuke. "Tell me _what_, Sasuke?"

He smiled at me, bitter dislike in every line of his face. "Tell you that I'm not completely human. Well, it's not exactly that but…"

I blinked. So my first assessment of him had been right. There _had_ been something unsettling about him. "I knew there was something different about you. When we first met, there was something… _wrong_. I just couldn't place it."

He shrugged, and said "Well, now you can. Don't hate me after I tell you this, alright?"

Why would I hate him?

"I made a blood pact with a vampire named Kaeleo, when I was nine years old. His body was dying, and I needed power."

I blinked. Oh. _That's_ why. Well then.

"Explain, or I _am_ going to hate you."

He looked at me, slowly and deliberately. "I was nine, Sakura. I didn't see any other way to get what I needed. And Kaeleo was dying, from the knife wounds I'd given him. He offered me anything I wanted, but he needed to be able to meld with my mind to live."

He looked at me, and then continued. "I let him. There was nothing I wanted, except that complete control of my own being. I needed it, so I let it happen."

"Why?"

"Because I was stupid and young and I didn't realize what I was agreeing to. And it's given me an insight to how the world of vampires work, Sakura, because Kaeleo was from one of strongest royal lines. It's been… incredibly helpful, in a lot of situations."

O-kay. I have nothing to say to that. I rubbed my temples, and flashed a look at Hinata and Naruto. Hinata was rigid, obviously trying to figure out just _what_ Sasuke was, exactly. Naruto, on the other hand, was relaxed and leaning against the wall, and it looked like this was not new information to him.

"Hey, bastard, you should probably explain what else that thing inside you lets you do. It's unfair, actually. Gives him an advantage over the rest of us." Naruto grinned at him, and I saw a spark of amusement in Sasuke's eyes.

Sasuke was behind me, suddenly. "Makes me faster." He had just moved faster then any human possibly could, I was irresistibly reminded of how fast we had been running to get out of there. It had felt more like flying then running, actually, now that I think about it.

I saw Tsunade roll her eyes for a second. He picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder. I shrieked. "Makes me stronger." Oh, so _that's_ how he managed to carry me around so easily…

I kicked him. "Makes you _more annoying_. Put me down, you idiot!"

He put me down. "Makes me smarter, too."

Naruto's amused mutter issued from behind him "You just didn't want her to kick you again, you bastard."

"That, too."

I was a little breathless, and a bit dizzy from being picked up. I dislike having my feet off the ground when they should be planted very carefully. It's unnerving. "So… do you crave blood, like the leeches do?"

I had to know.

He shook his head. "My body's still human. I still like food. And blood is still repulsive."

"Good."

All this information was making me tired. I wanted to collapse then and there, but my legs held steady. There were things I needed to do, before I would allow myself to collapse.

I turned to Tsunade. "So, now that we all know this lovely information, what do you want us to do? Because you had a motive, or you never would have pulled me in to it."

The slightly amused look in Tsunade's eyes vanished. "I want you to go after Silver. I don't know where he'd be now," she paused when she saw my vicious smile. _She_ might not know where he is, but _I_ certainly do. "But I want him brought back here. And he has to be _alive_, Sakura."

I glared stonily at her. "I've told you about that annoying habit of his, right? I don't think we can bring him anywhere, because he'll just leave. The only thing he keeps going back to is Argent's grave, and that's in Toronto. Although…" I smiled. "I just have to let him know I still have some of that bitch's ashes, and he'll be here in a flash."

"You have her ashes left?"

"Hell no! Silver's blind when it comes to Argent, and he'll do anything in the world to keep her ashes safe. And even if I lie, he'll come here in a blind rage. He always thought I kept some of Argent to myself. Why would I do that? I hated the bitch."

"Because you wanted something like _this_ to hang over his head?"

I paused, and pursed my lips. He had a point. Oh well. "Well, there is that, but no. I don't keep ashes of things I've destroyed."

Tsunade sighed as we bickered amongst ourselves. "Alright, whatever, just find him, and be quick about it. Hinata, I want you to go with Sakura, and I want you to bring some of the other girls with you. Tenten, perhaps?" Hinata fumed, although I had no idea why. I'd have to ask her about it as soon as I got the chance.

Tsunade continued. "Naruto, I know you won't let Hinata out of your sight, so you might as well go, too." She looked at Sasuke. "Do what you want. I have no control over what you do, anyways."

He shoved his hands in his pockets, and he let his hair hang over his eyes, and I knew without being told that he didn't want to let me out of his sight, either. I'm pretty sure Tsunade knew it too, because when she gave me her go-away-you're-bothering-me look, she sent it at all four of us.

So the four of us all left the premises.

As soon as we were out of there, I tossed an odd look Hinata's way. She still did not look happy about the Tenten part. I thought they were friends.

"Hey, Hina, what's the problem with Tenten?" I asked.

Hinata shook her head, her indigo hair swinging about her face. "It's not Tenten I'm annoyed about, it's my cousin Neji. Wherever Tenten goes, he goes. This also means that Tsunade has been consulting my father. He doesn't like the fact that I'm not his perfect little princess anymore." She smiled predatorily, and I felt a flush of satisfaction run through me. She'd obviously done something to piss her father off, and now he couldn't tell her what to do. Mwahaha.

Naruto was keeping very close to Hinata, his fingers threaded through hers. I was very happy to see this. And Hinata wasn't fainting. Well, it was a start.

Sasuke was walking a few steps behind me, and I slowed down just enough that he'd catch up. I looked at him, and he smirked at me. "You look tired, princess."

"I _am_ tired. I'm so tired, I can barely stand up." I didn't even tell him to stop calling me princess. I didn't have the energy, right now.

He didn't touch me, which was bad and good. If I passed out, I'd probably hit the ground with a dull thud, and it would hurt like hell when I next woke up, and thus bad. But if I managed to stay standing, I would live, which was good.

I'm not really in the mood to die right now. Dying would certainly put a damper on this whole finding-Silver-ASAP-thing. It might cause problems. "So we're off to find Silver, then, I suppose?"

"Hn," he grumped out. What was his problem _now_?

"Sasuke, what's up?" I tilted my head at him as I asked it, unsure of what was going to happen.

He raised his head, and looked back at me. "You still bring dangerous things to you, Sakura. It happens when you go looking for them. It happens even when you _don't_ go looking for them." His voice was lower then it's usual tone, and far quieter. He obviously didn't want to be overheard.

Hinata and Naruto were oblivious to anything other then each other, but even still, I kept my voice hushed. "Really now, do I? I kill things for a living, Sasuke. You're not going to stop me from doing what I love."

He didn't look at me, so I couldn't see his eyes, and he mumbled something, but I couldn't hear it. "What?"

"I said 'I'm not going to let you die for something stupid.'"

"Oh, well, now _that's_ cleared up…," my deliberate sarcasm was piled on thick, and I felt like I was chocking on the words.

"I'm not going to let you die for some_one_ stupid, either."

I glared at him. Uh-oh. _That_ couldn't be good. "So what, or who, for that matter, _am_ I going to die for, then?"

"You're not ever going to die. I won't let it happen, Sakura. I _won't_," he said, and the finality in his voice terrified me.


	10. Chapter 10

So… tired… More Breaking Benjamin. And also Paramore's old album.

**Disclaimer**: Continues to _not_ be mine.

**Dedication:** To free Broadcasting/Art classes.

---

The four of us decided to split up and meet at my house, because, well, to be blunt, it was the best stocked with the things that'd we'd need. It had weapons by the heap, and it was full of food. And I was hungry.

Hinata and I went together, to find Tenten. I'm not sure where Naruto and Sasuke disappeared to, but I didn't really care. I liked being able to be normal, and not feel watched, because when Sasuke was around, that seemed to happen a lot.

Anger.

I watched Hinata flip over her cell phone (I'm so happy I don't have one; Anko would be able to contact whenever she _wanted_, and _that_ was a scary thought. I'd never be off the phone), and her fingers danced over the keys as she dialed what I supposed was Tenten's number.

"Tenny, get down fifth, and you'll come to a turn, and then a line of houses. Fourth one on the right, the door'll be unlocked. If you can, get away from Neji."

Hinata went quiet, obviously listening to Tenten speak, and then she mumbled an affirmation, and then she hung up. O-kay, whatever.

"I'm hungry," she said.

"Me too. There's some ramen-"

"Hell no! I've had enough ramen to last me a freakin' _lifetime_!"

I snorted a laugh at her. "That's what you get for loving Naruto. A lifetime of ramen. Well, I hope you can cook, because I can't, and I don't feel like burning the house down. I'm not a ninja, or anything."

Hinata smiled. "Well, I can cook. Lady lessons, y'know. Another reason he's not happy with me right now. I'm missing all the important things he had planned for me, but he can't exactly tell Tsunade 'no', because he knows if he does, she'll send him on an excruciatingly boring mission."

We grinned at each other, silently thanking Tsunade. The woman was a crazy bitch, but it was all for a good cause. Killing leeches, skipping school, and telling parents what to do! Mwahaha!

Fairly quickly, we slipped into my house, after unlocking the door, and setting the traps off. I don't see why we need locks, not when we've got the place turned into a living death trap. I rolled my eyes at Anko's obsessive-compulsive paranoia. Ever since the time when Argent had gotten in, Anko did _not_ like leaving the house undefended.

I didn't see _how_ we were undefended, as two of the most notorious leech killers lived in this house. It just didn't make sense to me, but whatever.

I led Hinata to the kitchen, and she immediately started poking around. I let myself be shunted to the side, and I looked out the window.

The sky outside was a dizzy mess of purple and black clouds, and off white patches where the sun seemed to be shining through. They were swirling, thick and, well, actually, they sort of looked like sour milk, with the way they were curdling. Oh-kay. That's really weird. The weather doesn't normally change that fast.

I stood there for how long, I don't know, but I was transfixed by the strange mutations in the sky, and eventually, I heard the front door open, but I barely registered it, and until Tenten came in, soaking wet, with a snarl on her face.

I mildly turned around, and blinked at her. "Hello."

"Oh, hey Sakura, this is your house then, I take it?"

I nodded at her, but then Hinata came over, and ordered Tenten to take off her coat, and then gave me a pleading look. I squinted at Tenten, and figured her to be roughly the same size I was. I told her to go grab some of my clothes.

She grinned at me, and she pulled her hair out of the strange two buns on the top of her head.

Wow. I didn't realize that her hair was that long. Hinata, too, looked a little stunned at the length of the other girl's hair. Obviously, she'd never seen it before either. Okay then. I pointed Tenten in the direction of my room, and off she went.

And then I decided that I ought to help Hinata cook, considering she'd be cooking for five people, six if Neji showed up (I had a sneaking suspicion that he would. Boys are weird like that, and my sneaking suspicions tend to be dead on).

Not a smart idea. Ten seconds later, she shooed me out, not liking the way I was holding the kitchen knife. So sue me, I can't cook. Haven't I said this many times before?

So I curled up on the ugly orange couch that I loved so much, and waited for Tenten to come downstairs. I didn't know her so well, but I had a feeling she'd be fine with my clothes.

I'm not exactly the preppiest of people. Actually, preps kind of scare me. They're so… happy. _No one_ should be that happy.

So when Tenten came down, plucking at the sleeves of one of my favorite shirt, a grin on her lips, I knew she'd be a cool chick. If she could deal with my clothes (which are often more extreme then I am), she would be worth talking to.

She sat down on Kakashi's squishy chair next to me, and continued to grin. "I like your clothes."

"Thanks, I'm glad they fit." I paused, and thought of something. "Although, if I don't get that shirt back, I will _not_ be happy. It's one of my favorites."

She nodded, and we blinked each other for a minute. It was somehow awkward, and yet, not at all. She dew her knees up to her chest, and started humming to herself. We were both waiting for Hinata to get here and to the introductions again, because, let's face it, Tenten and I didn't know each other at all.

But there were always ways to break the ice, so I poked her. It was fairly unimaginative3, but I had no motivation to do something spontaneous. And just the fact that I'd _thought_ about it killed the spontaneity of the situation.

"Yeah?"

"I dunno, tell me something about yourself."

"Well… I like sharp, shiny things? Does that work?"

My eyes lit up. I had something she might like. "Hold on a sec, I want to show you something. Actually, you know what, no, come with me." She blinked at me, confused, but I got up, and dashed off, and she followed after I gave her Anko's patented finger-crook.

I led her to what was supposed to be Kakashi's secret hiding-place-for-weapons. It was, and it wasn't. It was also his secret hiding place for his porn, because the one time she _did_ find his porn, she gave him a weird look, and he turned pink, and then told me, very unhappily, to burn it.

I don't think I'd ever had so much fun. Seriously, the dude needed a better place to hide it, because loose boards in the floor did not deter a determined-twelve-year-od. And I'd used it as blackmail ever since.

But anyways, back to the situation at hand. I pulled a still-confused Tenten into the room, and flicked on the light.

The fluorescent (how I hate fluorescents… they don't make people look pretty,) light glinted off the hundreds of knives, swords, and other-deadly-sharp-things. I normally don't come in here much, not unless I need to re-stock my supply of throwing knives.

I prefer guns, on the whole. Not as messy.

But Tenten's eyes had gone wide as soon as I'd flicked on the light, and she looked amazed. Actually, she looked like a kid in a candy shop with an unlimited amount of money, she looked so gleeful. "Hatake, this is _amazing_. There are- Oh, my god, look at this, black silver. Do you know how _hard_ it is to find _good_ black silver?"

I shrugged. "Take it then. No one's ever gonna use it. And my name's Sakura, just the head's up."

She shook her head, almost experimentally, but she obviously did not have the will to put the black length of sharpened metal down. "No, I couldn't, it's too rare."

I shrugged again. "Kakashi said I could have those ones a long time ago, but I never used them, because I like blowing leeches full of holes. So keep 'em, for all I care. There's a twin, too, if you want it."

She looked awed, and gently traced her finger down the flat of the katana's blade. It was slender, and half as tall as she was; I knew the twin was half again as short as that one, but still of the same black silver make.

She continued to stare at it, so I supposed that I ought to get her the other one. I wasn't sure where it was, because a while ago, I'd thrown it over my shoulder in an effort to find some more of the weird enchanted knives that I liked pinning my hair up with. I had been standing in the far corner, so it should be… just to my left…

I spotted it amid a jumble of other thrown sharp objects. I carefully scuffled through the clutter, because I didn't want to bleed on anything if I got cut (blood rusts faster then water. Blah,), nor did I want to lose sight of the short black katana.

After pushing aside an ugly old rapier that I was sure was for decoration only, I gently tugged it out of its stuck-in-a-pig position. I noted that this one still had it's sheath, and went to find the other's one sheath as well.

When I finally did, and got back to Tenten, I wasn't surprised to see that she was still staring at the sword in her grip, as transfixed by it as I had had previously been by the weather.

I poked her with the sheath. "Hey, here's the other one, and that one's sheath."

She took it from me with a reverence one usually reserved for one's gods, and she held the two black swords like they were the most precious things she owned. For all I knew, they might be.

"Sakura, how can I ever-"

"Don't thank me; they were just gonna sit there until they rusted if you didn't take them. Oh, Hinata's probably looking for us."

I pulled Tenten out of the room with unsurprising resistance. She seemed to like sharp, shiny things as much I liked shiny toy guns. Yay, another girl who's as violent as I am, and that's rare to find, because most girls seem to think violence is not the answer.

And it's not. It's the question. I'm sure I've said this before.

The answer to that question is, of course, yes. Even if the situation doesn't call for it, a gun pressed to someone's head will usually bring about good results. I don't know why this is, because it's not like I'm going to kill anyone, but really, it works miracles.

You'd be surprised, actually, how willing leeches are to give you what you want if you threaten to kill them in painful ways. And then, of course, it's up to you, to decide whether or not you want to kill the leech.

Of course, as a hunter, I technically have to.

And besides. I hate them.

I blinked slightly, because when we got back to the kitchen, Sasuke and Naruto had finally showed up, with the boy I remembered as Neji with them. He looked sober this time. Damn.

That's no fun, because sober people tend to get mad if you draw all over their faces. Sigh. That makes me sad.

He looked at me blankly for a moment, and then Tenten got into the kitchen behind me. It was like he couldn't take his eyes off her. It was like he was staring right through me. I think I understood what Hinata meant when she said he'd go wherever Tenten went.

He looked at her like Kakashi looked at Anko. Like he was going to keep her safe for ever and ever and ever. I felt an odd ache in my chest, because I felt like I was looking at the way the world was supposed to be.

Tenten's eyes lit up as soon as she saw Neji, and she jumped on him without another word. Neither of them said anything, and they just looked at each other.

Hinata rolled her eyes, and dragged me out of there. I blinked at her, silently asking what the hell that had been.

She shrugged. "Tenten says it's physically painful to be away from him. I don't understand that, but it's always been like that between them. As soon as they first met, before my uncle died and Neji stopped laughing, they were the only for the other."

"I totally don't understand that, not even a little bit."

She nodded sagely. "I know, it's a little weird. But they've always been like that, like I said."

"Weird," I muttered, unsure of this situation. "Oh, where did Naruto and Sasuke get off to?"

Hinata rolled her eyes again. "They're probably still in the kitchen, stuffing their faces, completely oblivious to Neji and Tenten shoving their tongues down each other throats."

I grimaced. That was a _lovely_ mental image, that was. I wrapped my arms around myself, still more then slightly disgusted. Why can't boys get a _clue_?!

"Well then, I suppose we should go and break in on their little reunion, shan't we?"

Hinata looked at me liked I'd gone mad, and I was gripped by an insane urge to giggle. Damn. Where were these inane urges _coming_ from?! First the whole Sasuke-making-out-in-the-middle-of-the-dark-kitchen-thing, now this Why god, why? Why me?

Hinata shuttled me into the kitchen, and I blinked as I realized that Hinata had been _right_. Maybe Neji's tongue wasn't down Tenten's throat, but it didn't look like he'd be letting go of her anytime soon, and Naruto and Sasuke were, unsurprisingly, stuffing their faces.

Yummy. That was a mental image I had no desire to have verified.

I twitched, and looked around me. Next to me was the counter, and _on_ the counter was… ah, that'll work. Even if it _is_ gross, it'll work.

I grabbed one of the spoons that were sitting there, and the bowl of congealed porridge sitting next to them. I wrinkled my nose it. I didn't like porridge; I never had. This has probably been Kakashi's, as Anko only liked overly-sweet things.

I spooned a clump of the nasty stuff into the spoon, repulsed, and yet fascinated, by the way the old-snot-coloured stuff stuck to the spoon. It made from a great catapult.

Oh dear, _that_ couldn't be a good thought… Now I have even _more_ ammo to use.

I bent the spoon back, carefully analyzing how much force was being applied on the spoon, and wondering how much more I'd need to hit my target.

I bent it back a little more, and decided it was good enough. I motioned to Hinata to grab the other spoon, and to do as I did. She grinned maniacally, and I think she became my best friend in that second.

No one had even noticed us, yet.

Under my breath, I murmured "Three… two… one…_ Fire_!"

And then both Hinata and I let the spoons go, flinging the nasty gelled porridge at them And, just on target, mine hit Sasuke in the forehead, just as Hinata's hit Naruto over the head.

We broke down giggling as we watched the goopey, gooey stuff slide down their faces, Naruto getting it in his hair. Very fast, our giggling turned into full-blown laughter, and it was bad enough to the point that neither of us could move because we were laughing so hard. My ribs actually started to hurt.

Even Tenten and Neji disengaged from each other long enough to find humour in the situation. Neji's lips twitched, and Tenten was quickly on the floor laughing with us.

I was clutching my sides, I was laughing so hard. It was just _funny_. There was no reason for it, but it was. And it might have been the fact that the whole lot of us were letting go of the tense nervousness that preceded danger.

Eventually, when the laughing fit had finally passed, and we got up, and just looked at each other without laughing (it took a long time. Most times, you find something far funnier in the company of another person), Hinata ordered us to get packed up, and ready to go.

Something told me that moments like this were going to be few and far between from now on. Sigh.

---

When we finally left my house, we were traveling light. It wasn't like we were going far, anyway, but we all had plenty of weapons on us.

I found, to my pleasant surprise, that Neji and Tenten had been working together as a fighting team for _long_ time, and that their fighting styles complimented each other, Tenten with her twin long-and-short swords, and Neji with a strange pair of curved knives that looked liked they'd swirl around his arms if used properly that I'd never seen before, but I'm pretty damn sure Kakashi had a pair sitting in the arms' room.

Hinata had the chain-and-gun ensemble that I liked using, and Naruto had a _really_ huge broadsword. How the hell did he hold that? Better question; where was he going to _hide_ it? Actually, you know what? I don't want to know, because the next time I looked at him, I couldn't see it anywhere on his body.

Unnerving much?

And Sasuke was Sasuke, and I was me, and we were ready to go.

I blinked when we got out the door. There was a strangely strong wind that whipped my hair around my face, and I stared up at where the stars should be. I hadn't realized how late it had gotten, I suppose, because the sky was dark, and the sun had left my line of vision, leaving only a thin line of golden light hovering against the gloom.

I smiled at the irony. The light was beating pointlessly against the dark, only managing to barely hold it off, intermingling and making the most beautiful colours I'd ever seen. But it was _pointless_, and the sun knew it.

So why fight?

Because if we don't, the sun says, the dark will win, and there will be no chance of freedom and everything we work for. So fight, little one, fight as hard as you can.

I nodded to the sun talking in my head (okay, I'm crazy. Enough is enough, seriously), and I knew it was right.

Time to call Silver.

---

Everything was ready. I was sitting in a park, on a swing, gently pushing myself back and forth. Part of the ashes of a young female leech was sitting in a bag in my right hand. I'd need them to have something to tempt Silver with.

They were in the sealed plastic bag to keep him from differing the scent from this girl from his beloved's Argent. I knew, as well as Silver did, perhaps even better that Argent had had a very distinctive scent. It was what drew Silver to her in the first place, I think.

And he'd never tell me anything that I wanted to know, not if he knew Argent was still whole and safe in her Toronto grave.

But he didn't trust me, and as much as I hated him, he was pretty good for randomly showing up when I wanted to talk to him. This would only be the second I'd actually _wanted_ to talk to him.

The first time had been after Argent's death. I don't think I'd ever seen someone so tortured, and a dangerous part of me wanted to watch him hurt.

I'd locked that part up, to keep her from hurting anyone else, and the only time she ever broke free now was when I was in the middle of fighting, and I was so exhausted I could barely move. That was when I let her free.

I smiled, and let her free.

A snarl-smile etched itself across my lips, and I called softly, sing-song, into the descending blackness. "Sil-ver, Sil-ver, why don't you come and play with me? I'm bo-red."

And then he was, materializing out of the darkness, black-streaked-electric-blue hair, white skin, and the only silver pair of eyes on his kind. And I think I hated him with every fiber of my being for a second. I wanted to kick him.

He's just so _easy_ to hate.

He was smirking, and he eventually ended up leaning against one of the bars that held the swings up. "I take is you wanted to speak to me, your Highness?"

I smiled sweetly at him, hating him more then I'd ever hated anything in my entire life. "Yes, I _did_ want to talk to you. Tell me what's been going on."

"And just _why_ should I do that, little one? What's in it for me?"

I half-smiled, and held up the ashes. "You always wanted to know whether I had anything left of her, right?"

His eyes had bulged as soon as he saw the plastic bag, and I was pretty sure he would have simply attacked and killed me had I been anybody, or any_thing_ else. But I already had a gun pointed lazily at his head, and I was swinging the ashes around carelessly.

"Stop… that," he hissed out, and I was satisfied with his response. Poor boy. He didn't even know if it was her or not, and he was getting all worked up. Of course, I'd certainly made it _seem_ like they were hers.

I stopped swinging them around, and simply let them dangle from my fingers, and I smiled savagely. "So, you wanna tell me what I want to know? Or do I open this bag and let the wind take these ashes away?"

He snarled, and my words were punctuated by a particularly strong gust. Tee-hee. I love perfect timing.

"So you want to know why I was so far away from Argent, so far into lands I despise?" He said, and I almost had the grace to wince. Poor boy, he still spoke of her in present-tense.

Then I remembered how much I hated him, and the dangerous girl that was in control of my body giggled happily, and I giggled along with her, if only because she _was_ me, and I _was_ her.

"Yes, that's what I want to know."

"Because I had no choice in the matter."

I blinked, slightly taken aback. No choice? That didn't make sense, Silver was… well, he was Silver, and _no one_ told him what to do. _Never_. "What'cha mean?" I asked him.

"I mean I _had no choice_. It was go see them, or die. And I have no wish to end this life just yet."

"And why was that?"

"The nobles wanted to congregate, and one simply does not _ignore_ the noble families. And, as I am one of those nobles, I was forced to attend."

I smiled. So easy. "And what were they congregating about? And why _here_, why _now_?"

"About a very strong danger to our world, among other things. Here, because we have access to vigorous human blood, and also because this is your human Headquarters. Now, because they think you humans have posed a danger to us long enough."

"Are you _lying_ to me, Sil-ver?" I tipped the still-sealed bag upside down, and I could hear his breath catch in his throat.

"Why would I lie, Highness? Why would I lie, when you carry part of the only thing that matters to me?"

I didn't care to correct him. It wasn't Argent, but he didn't _have_ to know that. "Is there anything more?"

He tipped his head, hatred still blazing in his eyes, and he said "I suggest you be wary of snakes, little one. Snakes and rulers with pink seem not to like each other all that much."

I sighed. "I guess you can have her, now." And then I tore the bag open, and let the wind pick the leech's ashes up, and flew them off on the wind.

Silver eyes bulged again, but then the scent of them reached him. He shook his head, confused, for a moment, and then he started to laugh.

"Well played, little one. I'd forgotten how dangerous this side of you is. Say hello to Kaeleo for me, won't you? I'm sure you know of whom I speak, yes?"

And then he disappeared, leaving me to my thoughts, and my hatred of all things that walk the earth un-alive.


	11. Chapter 11

I am sleep deprived, ladies and gentlemen. Written to Breaking Benjamin and Mayday Parade, and also to the Lost Prophets.

**Disclaimer:** Still not mine.

**Dedication:** To Dana, because she always stays.

"I like deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go by."

---

I was still sitting on the swing an hour and a half later, when the others showed up. I'd told them that I would need that long.

Of course, it had been a lie.

But I needed time to think.

And there was suddenly a lot to think about. Silver was an ass, but he could make me think, that's for sure. He knew about the dangerous little five-year-old that resides in my head, and he'd spoken to appease her, not me.

I'd already locked that insane little toddler back in her cage, even though she was pouting at me, but I didn't close it all the way.

I know this is going to sound crazy, but I needed advice, and she was pretty good for that. She was nuts, yeah, but at least she listened. Crazy little five-year-old. This is worse then talking to myself. Well, technically, it _is_ talking to myself… but, whatever. I am officially insane.

I blinked, and the world around me flickered, and my five-year-old self was sitting next to me, her arms and legs bound. I grinned at her, and she pouted at me _dangerous-dangerous-dangerous-silly-little-girl-it's-no-wonder-people-can't-stand-you_.

'So, now that you're back where you _belong_… what did Silver mean?'

'_Sasu-chan mentioned something…Or was it that Kaeleo? The nobles wanted Silver and some female leech to have children… right?'_

'Yeah, her name was Kendra, I think.'

'_Then it's probably about that. They need strength.'_

I smiled to myself. 'How much do you love me?'

She smiled back. _'If we're killing anything, I'm there.'_

'Then we're in agreement.'

'_I suppose so.'_

And the world flickered again, and she was gone, asleep in the back of my mind. It wasn't a split personality, because she was me, but, at the same time, sometimes she had just a _smidge_ too much control.

Or maybe it was just because I was totally insane. Yeah, that had to be it.

And then there was the whole thing about some strong danger. It could be us, but at the same time, how could it be that? We keep them in check, but they kill enough of us to warrant the hatred we give them.

So somehow I doubt that it's us.

And then the snake thing… Why was he warning me about snakes? Silver had a weird mind. And since when was I was pink-haired ruler? The pink-haired part was obvious. My hair _is_ pink (and despite my protests against its colour, I like the fact that I'm the only chick with pink-coloured hair in the school). I was just a teenage girl. Albeit, a teenage girl with very good aim, but still a teenager.

And then he said to say 'hello' to Kaeleo. Well, that was self-explanatory.

The little girl in the back of my head giggled, and pushed against the lock. _'Princess, let me out. We've got company.'_

I snapped my head up, and watched warily as the others came up. They looked calm and ready. It was so different from how I felt right now…

Hinata and Tenten threw themselves at me when they saw me. I guess they had been worried I was going to die, or something equally as stupid. I don't _die_.

"Ladies, if you'd please get off me, we have to report to Tsunade. I've got stuff to tell you." I held up at hand at Tenten's questioning gaze. "Not here."

I smirked at Sasuke, because _this_ was payback. He rolled his eyes in an annoyed sort of way, and I laughed. He could suck it for all I cared what he thought.

Naruto looked around, unhappy, and whined out "So we're not _fighting_ anything?! Then what was the point in even _coming_?"

Hinata smiled softly at him, and Tenten and I looked at each other, and almost squealed. They were just _too cute_!!!

"Naruto, I think there'll be _plenty_ of fighting. Be happy we're not wasting time fighting something that has no objection to us."

I snorted. "Silver has _plenty_ of objections to us. He just hates me enough to give me hints and spoilers. He makes me want to _kick_ him. Blah."

Hinata gave me an odd look. "Sakura, did you just say _spoilers_?"

"Why, yes my dear, I did!"

She gave me another odd look, this time probably at the tone of my voice. It was a little high, and really… happy. Okay, what is _wrong_ with me today?

I shook myself off, and blinked at Sasuke.

His hands were stuffed in his pockets, and he looked… lost. What? Why lost? Or, no, maybe not lost. I wasn't really sure what it was, but it wasn't loss. It was more contemplative then lost.

And he was giving me another one of his undecipherable looks. Damn it, why does he _do_ that? It's _annoying_! So as we were leaving the park, I carefully attached myself to his side, if only to have the chance to prod him.

So I did.

I poked him in the arm, and gave him an enquiring look. And if he shook his head at me, I was likely going to scream. I _do not_ appreciate being left out of important information. And while I'm doing it to the others, they don't seem to mind as much, because they're too busy being wrapped up in each other.

I mean, Naruto's holding Hinata so close, it's more like he's carrying her then anything else, and Tenten's arms are wrapped around Neji's waist, and his arm is draped over her shoulder.

I feel a little bit left out, and I looked up at Sasuke.

He was looking back at me, and he reached out and linked our pinkies. It still wasn't anything special, but it made me warm, just looking at him, and knowing that he was there, no matter what.

I thought back to the episode in my kitchen, and I wanted to blush fiercely. I hadn't even told Hinata, but that rush of possession swamped me again, and he was _mine_. I don't give a _damn_ what anyone else thinks, he belongs to _me_, and _me alone_.

An electrical current was running through my body, originating from the point where his fingers made contact with my skin. It's intensity made me shiver. And then I remembered part of my conversation with Silver.

I dropped my voice, but kept it forcefully casual. "Oh, and Kaeleo? Silver says hello."

Sasuke's lips curved upwards into a dangerous, and very uncharacteristic, smile. His pinky tightened around mine, and I knew Sasuke _did not_ like the fact that I was talking to the leech imprisoned in his body.

"Well, I suppose the next time we see him, I'll have to a formal re-introduction, princess, won't I?. But then, I may have-"

Sasuke cut him off, and obviously shoved the other entity back into his mind. "Get… out… of… my _head_!" He snarled out, each word forced and angry.

He took a few calming breaths, our pinkies still locked together. I tilted my head to the side. I knew _Sasuke_ called me princess, but why did _Kaeleo_ call me princess? I thought that was Sasuke's name for me. Weird.

"Sakura, _please_ don't talk to him." Sasuke's voice was husky, and I felt another rush of possession flood over me. '_Mine'_ said my crazy side, but I shut her up.

Now, wasn't _this_ ironic? Both Sasuke and I had voices in our head. Sigh. "Why not?"

"Because he knows that I… _care_ about you, and he can, he'll kill you, just to make me snap."

I smiled up at him. "You're dumb. I can perfectly well take care of myself."

He shook his head, but he didn't say anything. He knew it, too. I _could_ take perfect care of myself. I'm not some weak, annoying little girl who can't do anything for herself. Blah. I despise chicks like that.

They're just so… pointless.

Tenten's voice came out of the gloom that night had cast, and startled all of us. We were on guard, but do you blame us? It's more dangerous out at night then any human can even _begin_ to comprehend. "So what now?"

It was silent, so I decided right there that we'd go back to my house, dump all our shit off, and then go see Tsunade. I relayed this plan to the others.

They quickly agreed, and we on our way back home.

---

Tsunade was standing in front of us, fuming. We were still in the yucky room with the gross yellow light, and Tsunade was _not happy_. We _still_ hadn't managed to 'exorcize' Silver, and I suppose this thoroughly annoyed her. Sigh. She started pacing, and I watched in amusement.

Part of me (remember that evil, bitchy that took control in the kitchen? Yeah, her,) was unsure. I hate Silver more then anything else, but, in a twisted way, it's like having a very frank gay best friend. Not interested in me in any sexual way at all, but, at the same time, too wise too pass up.

Okay, something is _really_ wrong with me, if I'm thinking of Silver in any other way then utter scorn. Blah. He's good for showing up when I want to talk to him, but he's _so annoying_. _Rawr_.

Tsunade turned and looked at Sasuke. "Sasuke, is he still trying to escape?"

Sasuke inclined his head, and I knew she was talking about Kaeleo. But I thought they were in a sort of co-existence… so what was this about escaping? Escaping, to me, meant usually trying to _out_, not trying to stay _in_.

I'd have to get an explanation later, because Tsunade was still glaring at the ground, a silent snarl twisting her lips. And she also probably wanted me to tell her what happened with Silver.

Of course, there were things I'd have to leave out, like the _methods_ that I used to get Silver to tell me what I wanted to know. Tsunade hates leeches, but she thinks that they don't deserve undue pain. And, according to her standards, my mental games were 'undue pain'.

I think she's nuts. There is no such thing as _undue pain_ when it comes to Silver, because, let's face it, if he got the chance, he'd gut me alive, and leave me to bleed. Wonderful-smelling-blood or not, Silver would let me bleed out.

He would let me bleed out, because I've been told having your blood sucked out of your veins is the most amazing thing you'll ever feel. I shuddered as this thought crossed my mind.

I like my blood where it belongs, which is in my veins, thanks very much.

"Sakura, what was it _exactly_ that Silver said?"

I rolled my eyes, and repeated the same lines I'd told her only minutes before. "He asked if I wanted to know why he was so far away from Argent's grave, I said yes, then he told me the noble lines were congregating here because of some weird danger, and then he told me to be wary of snakes, and then he disappeared. You know the dude likes pissing you off Tsunade, so calm down."

She continued to pace. "Snakes, why _snakes_? There's something there, I _know_ it…" She muttered to herself, and I rolled my eyes again.

I happen to like snakes; I think they're cool animals. They're very self-sufficient, and very dangerous when handled improperly. They like being left alone to bake in the sun, and they actually get that luxury, because there aren't any blood-crazed monsters after them. Rawr.

"And not only snakes, but the nobles lines and congregating… Kaeleo, what does that mean?"

"It means they are planning a time and place to converge. It has only happened twice in the last five centuries. This is something to behold, indeed."

I was still weirded out, hearing someone else's words coming out of Sasuke's mouth, using Sasuke's voice. It just sounded like it should be coming out of some old movie, with the way Kaeleo spoke! "So now what?"

Tsunade glowered. "We can't kill the noble lines off."

I blinked. "Excuse me? Isn't that what we're _supposed_ to do, when there's a threat to the human population? Eradicate it?"

Tsunade nodded, her expression a cross between extreme annoyance, fury, and unhappy acceptance. "The noble lines are… _complicated_. They both help and hinder us. They have some measure of control over other vampires, and yet they rarely exercise it."

I glared at the ground, distaste in my mouth. "They prefer to let us take care of it, right?"

Tsunade nodded, a hard look in her eyes. She obviously didn't like the nobles much at all. _I_ personally didn't even like the sound of them. They were just… bad, in my mind. I shuddered.

"So what do we do now?"

Tsunade half-shrugged, and said, very softly, "I've got a packet of information on the noble vampires that you ought to watch out for. And, let's face it, all we can do now is watch and wait."

She and I sighed in unison, and I grabbed what I supposed was the packet of information off the desk. And then, for good measure, and really to wake Sasuke up (really, seriously!) I kicked him.

He hissed in pain as Kaeleo receded into the back of his mind, and Sasuke re-gained control. I smiled hugely at him. "Sorry about that; it probably smarts a bit." I said sweetly, ignoring the glare in his eyes and the grimace on his lips.

His hand brushed against mine, and I instinctively stiffened. I still wasn't used to this… thing… that had developed between us, and because of that, I was rarely in the mood to be touched. He didn't link our pinkies, and neither did I, but I knew he was there.

And that was what mattered.

---

Hinata and the others were waiting outside for us, and she tilted her head at me. "Sakura, what-"

I cut her off. She was probably getting used to it by now, too. "Let's just get back to my house, yeah?"

So the six of us went, Naruto still basically carrying Hinata, and Tenten still curled into Neji. But I didn't want to touch Sasuke right now. I didn't want to be touched. I needed to think, and when I was touching Sasuke, I couldn't _think_.

It was annoying, actually.

We got home faster then I expected. There was nothing to say, so I pushed the door open, deactivated Anko's traps _again-and-again-and-again-over-and-over-and-over_, and I let the others in first, careful to close the door afterwards, to make sure nothing that I didn't want getting in got in.

I went to the kitchen, figuring that was where everyone would up. I was right, unsurprisingly enough. I didn't acknowledge the others, but went straight to the pantry, and pulled out the big jar full of gummy bears.

I love gummy bears, because they don't fight back when you bite their heads off. With this thought, I went and sat down at the for-four-people table that was currently crammed.

I sat on the table. Chairs? Not for me, thanks.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at me. "Sakura, why are you sitting on the table?"

"Because I can? Oh, anyone want gummy bears?"

I tossed the jar on the table, and all three boys dived at it. What is it with boys and never being able to give up free food? "Hey, don't eat 'em all; they're mine!" I growled at them, but they ignored me. Hinata and Tenten shook their heads, and dragged me out of the kitchen before I had the chance to kill them all.

"C'mon, let's get cleaned up. Sakura, I'm pretty sure you'll want to get changed, but Tenten and I have to go grab clothes from home."

I waved Hinata off. "Don't worry about it. You can just wear mine. They might be a little big on you Hinata, but I'm pretty sure you won't mind that too much, and we already know Tenten fits my clothes."

I grinned. "Besides, if they get ruined, it's just an excuse to go out an buy some more, right?"

I'm not normally into shopping, but I really do like clothes. And shoes. I'd kill for shoes. So the three of us went upstairs, and I pulled out my clothes, and tossed them to each of the other girls.

Tenten was still wearing the shirt I'd given her from before, but I guess she wanted to switch, because she quickly changed out it, and into the one I'd tossed at her now, the stripy blue-and-green-and-turquoise-and-every-other-cool-colour-under-the-sun, and the artfully-ripped-and-torn jeans, plus a belt that was covered in bar codes.

Hinata snorted when she saw the belt. "Nice Tenten. Your ass is for sale!"

Tenten shot her a glare, and pulled the clothes on.

For Hinata, I found a creamy cashmere v-neck sweater that Tsunade had bought me a year and a half ago that I hated, but I had a feeling Hinata might like it, and a ruffly skirt that almost perfectly matched her hair. Why was that skirt sitting in my closet, actually? Not my style, thanks very much.

Hinata blinked at the clothes, and changed into them. I wanted to hate her for a second, because she was so pretty, but it's impossible to hate Hinata. She's too sweet. She blinked at me, and I shrugged.

I was wearing black jeans, a crimson tube top over a black long-sleeved shirt, and a black-and-white checkered tie. I was also wearing a pair of fingerless leather gloves. So I felt like being weird. So sure me. The crazy little part of me giggle. _This-is-me-me-me-talking-when-you're-not-paying-attention-silly-silly-silly_…

We left my room, and slipped into the kitchen.

All my gummy bears were gone. Every. Last. One. Someone was going. To. Die.

"Boys, didn't I say _not_ to eat my _all_ my gummy bears?!" I gritted out, my teeth clenched.

Sasuke smirked, and came over, and stood very, very close to me. Oh, dear god, I could smell whatever it was he used for cologne, and it still had that drugging effect on me.

No, damn it Sakura, keep your mind on killing these three for eating all the _amazing gummy bears_!

He continued smirking at me, and said "My bad. Here's a tissue." And then he held up a tissue.

I twitched, and kicked him hard in the shin. "You ate my gummy bears, asshole!" I shrieked at him. Okay, so I liked him, but he was _annoying_! And he _ate my gummy bears_!!! You _do not_ eat my gummy bears if you _want to live_. Even _Kakashi_ knows not to eat my gummy bears.

And these idiots had finished them all! How _dare_ they?! I said they could have _some_! Not _all_!!!

"I love you?"

I growled. "Not _good_ enough. You're buying me a whole new pack up gunny bears, and you better not have any! You, too, Naruto! And you as well, Neji!"

They both nodded, wide-eyed, but that might not have been me. Both Neji and Naruto were very busy staring at Tenten and Hinata respectively. I rolled my eyes. Boys are not only dumb and weird, they're unsurprising as hell.

I knew from the second I had tossed my clothes at my two friends that the boys would be staring. I'm not stupid, thanks. Actually, I ten to pride myself on the fact that I do have brains, thanks.

I looked up at Sasuke, still slightly peeved off (because he _ate my gummy bears_. No one should ever eat my gummy bears except me), but slightly amused, too. "They're kinda predictable, huh?"

He snorted, and nodded in agreement.

So he and I stood there, and watched our four friends. Apparently, Neji was exactly like Sasuke. He was emotionless for a good portion of the time, and almost a robot in his language use. But Tenten didn't seem to mind that, smiling at him as she was.

And I'm not even going to comment on Hinata and Naruto, because they're so cute it's actually almost sickening.

Ten minutes later, we all came back to ourselves, and our introspective silence was broken. I sighed, and reached for the file that contained the vampire nobles information. It was still sitting on the table, where I had left it earlier.

I flipped it open, and sat down at the for-four-people table. Hinata sat, too, as did Tenten. So, apparently chivalry _isn't_ totally dead. Damn. Too bad. Chivalry only works for girls who're too weak to take care of themselves.

I smirked to myself, because, by all accounts, neither Tenten nor Hinata was too weak to take care of themselves.

The first profile came up. Silver's.

I shuffled it to the back. I knew Silver well enough that I didn't have to look at a written profile on him to know everything about him.

I carefully looked over the next one. The picture was of a pretty girl with green eyes, and red hair in big, thick ringlets. She was smiling softly, and I was, suddenly and invariably, reminded of my mother. Of course, my mother didn't have purple eyes, and her hair was a brighter shade of red then this but…

"Kendra. Says here she wears contacts to keep her eyes green… so this is the girl Silver was engaged to." I murmured softly, and Hinata looked curiously at the profile.

"She looks like she's about sixteen."

I nodded. "Yup, says she was changed right about the time she was sixteen, too. Although, considering, that might have been well over a hundred years ago. Tsunade says no one is sure of her exact age."

I shook my head to myself. This girl was dangerous. Very, very dangerous. Especially with the soft smile, and the ringlets, and the pale skin, all of it spoke 'trust me'. But her eyes were cold, and cunning, and likely to rip a person in half.

I knew without knowing that she probably wouldn't make my life very easy. I didn't know _how_ I knew, but I just did. Kendra was going to make my life a misery, if she could.

And I knew she would.


	12. Chapter 12

So… tired… Written to my Breaking Benjamin, and also to Paramore. Oh, and I left a reference in there (FUCK NO IT'S NOT TWILIGHT), from a story called "One of the Hungry Ones". Can you find it?

**Disclaimer:** Insert witty disclaimer here.

**Dedication:** To trying to keep yourself from falling apart.

"I NEED TO MEET THIS KID NAMED PAUL!!!"

---

The others had gone home, and it was just Sasuke and I left in the house.

I didn't know why this was worrying me, but somehow it was. Damn it. I slammed my fist into the wall, and then I hissed as pain shot through my hand.

A minute or so later, when my body gained control of the unprecedented pain, I surveyed the damage done, biting my lip to keep myself from yelling, and having Sasuke come running up here to see what's wrong. Two split knuckles, nothing serious, but it was bleeding, and it would bruise if I didn't wrap it up quickly.

I knew without knowing that Sasuke was sitting in the kitchen, staring out the window, maybe conversing with Kaeleo in his head, maybe not. But either way, it didn't matter, because I still… couldn't look at him.

Actually, it's kind of pathetic _you're-so-pathetic-it-makes-me-sick-sick-sick_.

My little five-year-old laughed at me. She's not been happy, recently. I groaned, and went downstairs, to the kitchen.

Okay, now I feel like I fail at life, because I'm standing in front of the kitchen door, my fingers inches from the knob, and it's all because I did something as stupid as say that Kendra looked like my mother out loud.

I winced, as I thought of the looks on all their faces. It had only been a murmur, the words that had past my lips, but they'd all heard it.

And they froze up, and that made _me_ freeze up, and then we sat there for something like ten minutes, none of us saying anything at all. It sucked.

And then Hinata, being the god-send that she is, took control of the situation, grabbed the folder out of my hands, and went through the rest of the profiles.

Four males; well, there was Silver, a very tan kid of that looked about seventeen called Torr, one dude who seriously looked like Kakashi called Jagh, and one named Luke who looked like a girl. And then there were five females; one girl with black and purple hair called Kethryn, another girl who had apparently been with Kethryn when they were changed called Storm, a red-head (fire-engine red, too) called Brittle, then a blonde called Hannah, and then, of course, Kendra.

I snarled silently, and gritted my teeth together, and _refuse_ to let my fear rule me. Simple law of the jungle folks; eat, or get eaten.

So I pushed the door open, and just as I'd suspected, and there was Sasuke in all his twisted pretty-boy glory. There was sunlight pouring in through the glass window, and it lit his features in a way another type of light could never replicate (I so hate _hate-hate-hate_ fluorescents), and I thought he was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

It made my heart ache, because I _wanted_ him. He was _mine_.

I guess he hadn't even heard me open the door; he was so absorbed in his own head. I smirked to myself; it was kinda funny. I snuck up behind him, and I almost wanted to wrap my arms around him.

But fear, the little fucker, took hold of my body again, and just as I was pushing it away, Sasuke whipped around, and wrapped his arms around me.

God damn, I _hate_ it when he does that!

So he obviously _had_ heard me, and had obviously been waiting for me to approach. Did he already know my childish, curious mind that well?

I sighed into his chest. I guess he did.

I could feel his breath pressing into my hair, and I sighed again. He always smelled so good, it was just totally unfair. A few more deep breaths gave me enough courage to look up into his eyes.

They were hard and soft and _Sasuke_. I knew he hadn't liked the fact that Kendra reminded me so much of my mother, but there was nothing I could do about that.

"Does she really remind you that much?"

Damn, we even think alike. "Yes. She looks like every memory, every picture I have of her. My mum didn't have that eye colour, but then, we're not sure of Kendra's actual eye colour. She might have picked green because she liked it."

He blinked down at me. "Then where did the green eyes come from?"

I smiled. "They came from my daddy, and his white hair lightened my mum's red hair enough to give me… pink." I groaned, and rolled my eyes,

He laughed softly, and caught my lips in a very unexpected kiss. It was sweet and soft and sort of scared, almost hesitant, and I liked it.

I twined my fingers through his hair, and tugged him closer. The possession that always seemed so close to the surface hummed in satisfaction. _Mine_, it hummed _mine-mine-mine-mine-mine-mine_, and I hummed along in my head.

I pulled away to breathe, and our eyes locked, even as he pressed his forehead into mine. I was losing control of my perfect composure. _Shit_. Both our breaths were heavy as he looked at me.

He whispered. "You're very dangerous to me, princess."

"Why?"

He smirked, crooked and twisted, and I wanted to know if he was hurting, but he didn't voice it. He just kissed me again, still soft and sweet, but there was _heat_ in this kiss.

I knotted my fingers more firmly in his hair, and I pulled him back. "_Why_ Sasuke? And don't lie to me. Lies are annoying."

He chuckled, his voice reverberating through me. Okay, that was the sexiest thing that's ever happened to me, in my entire life. I wanted to swoon, but I kept myself in control of my body's hormones. Responses. Whatever you want to call it.

"You're dangerous to me because you have me wrapped around your little finger. If you asked me to kill myself, Sakura, I would."

"So if I asked you to kiss me again, would you?"

He chuckled again, and said "I just might." And then he sealed off my air supply, and I didn't really think anymore. He's just too damn persuasive like that.

I pulled back once more and said "If I'm dangerous to you, you're dangerous to me, too."

He didn't say anything, but he claimed my lips again, and neither of us pulled away for a long time.

---

I dreamt, that night. I dreamt of dancing with strangers and imp masks and so much blood that it might have been an entire sea. I dreamt of too many swirling colours, lost in a ballroom, and I dreamt of Persian princes and foxes and nobles from an ancient French court. I dreamt of dancing in the dark under flashing lights, and I dreamt of losing someone important, but I couldn't see their face. I dreamt of spinning and spinning in the middle of a night full of stars and a smiling moon, and I dreamt of my mother's smile and her thick red ringlets, but the face was somehow wrong, with cold green eyes and canines too long, curving gently over her lips. I dreamt that I was sitting on a swing, and jumping off a cliff, and I was flying. I dreamt I was dying.

I dreamt for so long it couldn't have been real.

But I did dream, and dreaming was such a strange thing to me. It was so strange that I didn't even remember it when I woke.

---

The next time I had coherent thought was pretty much the next day, and I had just woken up half naked next to Sasuke. He was still in deep sleep, and I sat up and looked down at him. He's so weird, really.

We didn't sleep together, okay, well; technically we slept in the same bed, but whatever. It doesn't matter. I didn't get laid, to put it bluntly. And also, to put it bluntly, I was beyond fine with that.

Part of me _the-childish-little-five-year-old-me_ was still… unsure was the best word I could think of to put in to words what she was feeling, of Sasuke. This was unfair, but it was also the truth.

That part of me still wanted him, but she wanted a different part of him. She wanted someone to _play_ with, not someone to be with forever. I locked her away, with the dangerous one, and they both were unhappy with me.

Innocence is something I can only dream of, and I lock the mental door in my head shut. A delicate horror. The five-year-olds whispered, and I loved them.

I realized that Sasuke was waking up, and that he was staring up at me. "Morning, princess."

"Hi." My voice was soft, so soft. So tired. Why am I so tired?

He looked up at me, half-squinting. "Sakura, is something wrong?"

"No, I'm just tired."

He laughed. "You're always tired."

"Yes."

We didn't speak, and eventually I realized that I should probably get up, and get changed. I really needed to give Sasuke his shirt back, despite the fact that it was the most comfortable thing I'd ever worn.

And I needed to call Anko.

I was starting to get worried about her and Kakashi, because they hadn't called yet and it had been more then two days. And the profiles from yesterday unnerved me. One of them, Jagh, looked so much like my foster-father that it was eerie.

I needed to know that they were alright.

But, just as I was about to get up, Sasuke pulled me back down, and I ended up lying next to him, my - his shirt riding up my side. Asshole.

"I need to call Anko."

"Anko can wait half an hour, right?"

I glared at him, and he smirked at me. Damn it, I can't _kick_ him from this position! "Sasuke, really, I actually need to get up. And Hinata will probably have called already, so-"

He kissed me again, and cut me off, effectively shutting me up. What's half an hour, right?

No, _no_, control, Sakura, _control_!

I tugged away, and laughed at him because he was pouting at me. And it was cute. But it wasn't enough to sway me. I pulled myself out of bed, and went into my closet to grab some clothes.

I have no idea what I grabbed, either, I just grabbed a pair of jeans and a shirt off the floor, and I poked my head out the door, and sent Sasuke a glare.

"Can you get out of my room? I'm going to change."

He grinned at me, and I swear I could see 'pervert' written all over that look. Oh no, he better not go there… "Well, you could always change _with_ me in the room, although I'm not sure you'd get much changing done…"

He went there. I stormed over to him, and sat on him. And I felt much better afterwards. "Out. _Now_."

He gasped for air, and I smiled, understanding the 'well, you're kind of _sitting_ on me' vibe he was sending off. I got off of him, and pointed out the door.

He sat up, letting my sheets fall off his body, and I realized he was only wearing an old, torn pair of Kakashi's pajama bottoms. No shirt. While _that_ sight was very nice, the pants… weren't. It's kind of awkward to see your - what _is_ Sasuke to me? Future husband?- wearing you dad's pant.

Not normal.

But he walked out of my room, and I quickly threw on the shirt, the red tube top from yesterday, and the black jeans. Whatever. It wasn't pretty, but I didn't care. Sasuke could cause all kinds of trouble if I wasn't around to watch him.

But when I got downstairs, he was just making pancakes. I snorted to myself. Could Sasuke honestly get _anymore_ perfect? The guy can kill leeches, disobey Tsunade, cook, and make it look hot, to top it all off! What kind of person can _do_ that?!

I watched him flip a pancake high into the air, and pretended I wasn't impressed when he looked over at me for approval. I yawned at him, actually, and I really didn't like the glint that suddenly appeared in his eyes.

He flipped another pancake in the air, and spun around, only to catch the thing as it fell, right back into the frying pan.

Damn. Now I _couldn't_ hide the fact that I was impressed. All I could think to myself was '_Why must he be so. Fucking. Perfect_?!' I growled to myself, and watched as he flipped two pancakes into the air and we watched them land perfectly on my plate.

This is beyond unfair.

We started eating, and it was quiet. Soft. It wasn't forced. It was nice, just sitting there together, but with every passing second, my concern for Kakashi and Anko grew. I couldn't lose them. Not them. They were all I had.

Well, maybe not just them. My eyes flicked up to Sasuke. I had him, too. But they were the closest things to parents I had, and I would _not_ be happy with Tsunade if I found out either of them had been harmed in any way. Actually, I wouldn't even be mad at Tsunade. I'd be pissed at the thing that harmed them.

My jaw clenched. How I despise bloodsuckers. They've taken everything from me. They won't take this.

I didn't (couldn't, really,) even finish my breakfast. My jaw was still clenched, and I shoved myself away from the table. Sasuke looked up at me questioningly, and I just shook my head.

I looked down at him, and I could feel my anger leaving my body, draining away through some invisible tubes. I sat back down, suddenly exhausted.

I dislike emotionally upheavals. They take so much out of a person. Sigh. I whispered into the still air, not wanting to ruin the perfect silence, but I knew I had to.

"Sasuke, we have to go find Kakashi and Anko."

He didn't say anything, so I _careful-careful-carefully_ peeked up at him, and saw him mouthing words, talking to himself. Everyone does this, and I wasn't surprised when he looked up at me, and our gazes locked. "They can take care of themselves."

I snarled. "I don't _give a damn_ anymore, Uchiha."

I saw him wince, and I knew it was a little harsh. So I changed my tone to one of soft pleading, and continued. "They're all I _have_, Sasuke. If they die, what's the point in even existing?"

He looked away. "What about me?"

I smiled. "Sasuke, we don't even know what we _are_ to each other yet, let alone living for each other. Things like that… well, I kinda suck at them, and Kakashi and Anko are the only example I have to compare with, and they kind of fail. They're really too weird. And unless you're ready to define exactly what we are, then what's the point?"

I didn't tell him that he was already mine. He didn't need to know that yet. Then again, he might already know it. I just didn't want to say it out loud, because it could really fuck everything up twenty-one ways to Sunday.

And I really didn't want that.

"So what are we, princess Sa-ku-ra? What exactly is it?"

I glared at me, and I forced the blush that I could feel rising back. I was _not_ in the mood to blush, because I knew that as soon as I did, I wouldn't be able to stop. Hinata was the one who blushed. Not me. "I don't know _what_ we are, Sa-su-ke. Why don't you tell me?"

He laughed, and I winced at the bitterness of his tone. It… hurt… to hear his voice like that. "You still don't want anything to do with me, do you?"

I blinked at him. Where had he gotten _that_ idea? "And what makes you think that?" I asked him.

He just laughed again, still as acidic as before. "Because you won't even look me in the eye. You'll kiss me, but you won't _look_ at me, will you?"

I clenched my jaw. "_Excuse_ me?! Are you implying that I'm a slut?!" I hissed at him. Okay, how it gotten like this so quick?

His eyes widened, and he shook his head frantically. "_Hell_ no, Sakura." He laughed bitterly again. "No, I just mean that you'll never really let yourself go and lose control, no matter how much I want you to."

I loosened the muscles in my jaw, and I looked away. He was right. I hated losing control. I let out the breath I didn't realize I'd been holding, "So what are we, then? Why can't it just be _simple_?!"

He reached out, and pulled me close to him. My breath caught in my throat, and I sighed softly as he pressed his lips to my hair. I didn't want it to matter what we were to each other -he was mine, and I knew without a doubt that I was his, so why did it _matter_ so fucking much?!

I took a couple breathes of air from where my face was buried in his chest, and I felt like a sap. God, it should matter this much. "Can we just say that you belong to me?" I whispered into his shirt. My voice ragged with suppressed hope, and I hated myself for being so weak.

I felt, rather then heard his affirmation. His whole body relaxed, and his voice was at my ear when he spoke. "Yes. We can say that I belong to you."

"Good." I closed my eyes, and smiled into his chest.

---

The house line rang, and I dove at it. I couldn't help it. I'd been diving at the phone every time it rang, to find out if it was Anko or Kakashi.

So far, we'd gotten three calls. One from Hinata, wondering whether or not Sasuke and I had killed each other (… killing Sasuke isn't really on my agenda right now…), a second from Tenten because she was bored (I'd hung up on her because I was so worried and I couldn't concentrate on a conversation anyways), and a third from a telemarketer (I'd slammed the phone back in it's cradle so hard, it almost broke).

I picked up the phone, my fingers shaking, and managed to whisper "Hello?" My voice cracked as I said the second and last syllable, and I waited to hear the voice from the other end.

"Sakura? Is that you, sweetie?!" Anko's voice crackled through the receiver, and I almost cried I was so happy to hear the soft words delivered in that sharp tone she uses when she's annoyed.

"Yeah, it's me Anko. Thank god you called. I was starting to freak out."

She snorted at me, and I smiled to myself. So Anko. "Honey, you should know by know that we call when it's safe to call. It hasn't been-" She broke off, and I guessed that something Kakashi had done had distracted her.

And besides. I'm not stupid. It hadn't been safe to call before today. Still, four days is a long time, and I'm just _not used_ to being left in the dark. Grawr. "Anko, are you coming back anytime soon?"

I could hear her grinding her teeth - not a good sign. "No, we're not. We need to stay stationed here, basically until further notice. Kurenai's not happy - she thinks she might be pregnant, and I wouldn't doubt it, with the way that she and Asuma-" She broke off again, but this time I think it had to do with the fact that Kurenai just stole the phone from her.

And I know this, because it was Kurenai's voice that I heard next screeching from the phone "DON'T BELIEVE A _WORD_ SHE SAYS, SAKURA!!!"

I held the phone away from my ear until the screaming on the other end died down, and then I put it back, and listened to Anko continue to rant about the many leeches in the area, and how, during our (Sasuke's and mine) almost-a-day absence, there had been seven deaths.

_Seven_.

Am I the only one extremely disgusted by that number?! There have _never_ been that many deaths in one night when I've been in a city.

As soon as I hung up the phone a few minutes later, I slammed my fist into the wall. My still-healing knuckles re-split, and it hurt. Damn.

I'm such a masochist for things like this. But _seven deaths_. That was _too many_. My eyes widened, and a part of me was worried about Emma, the girl I met, and her younger brother. I winced at the thought of the little boy, surrounded by all those machines.

"Sakura?"

I looked up, and saw Sasuke staring at the blood on my knuckles. He didn't look happy. I smiled hugely at him. "Could you get me some gauze or something? I'm bleeding, and it kind of hurts."

He shook his head me, looking slightly amazed. What? I don't feel pain when there's adrenaline rushing through me!

He got back a few minutes later, and I watched him carefully wrap my hand up. Seriously, the boy's too protective for his own damn good. He'll end up dying doing something in the name of making sure I didn't get hurt.

And honestly, how stupid is that? Everyone's going to die one day. He looked up at me, and kissed each of my split knuckles, one by one.

"You're so dumb."

"Yeah, but you love me anyways."

"That I do, princess, that I do."

I blinked at him, shocked. Had he just said what I _think_ he'd just said? Oh please god, I'm not ready for this…


	13. Chapter 13

I hate exams. I love exam break, but I hate the actual exams. Blah. Written to more Breaking Benjamin, this time 'Unknown Soldier' and 'Topless'.

**Disclaimer:** Still not mine.

**Dedication:** To Jeremy, because he's always there.

---

Loving someone is hard. Very hard. And I honestly didn't know if I loved Sasuke or not, but I wasn't… planning on changing the fact that he was mine anytime soon. I may not have loved him, but he was _mine_.

Isn't that good enough? Isn't it good enough that no one else can ever have me, except him?

I'm kind of a commitment phobe, so sue me. Actually, not a commitment phobe, per-say. I'm just very conservative about whom I fall in love with; because how am I supposed to know it's not just lust?

I flick my gaze up to Sasuke, and a pit of warmth accumulates in my stomach. Okay, so this isn't just lust, but still.

I curled up into Sasuke chest (it's a habit I picked up from I don't know where), and I muttered to myself about how unfair life is. Sasuke chuckled, and I glared up at him. "I do not appreciate being laughed at!" I told him, slightly outraged. How dare he laugh at me?!

"I know you don't," he said, still chuckling.

I hate boys. Rawr. "So what do we do now?"

He shook his head, and gripped my hand. "I don't know."

I smiled grimly. "Then I'm calling Tsunade. I can't stand this… sitting around. The waiting is getting on my nerves, and if I don't so something about it soon, I am going to rip the skin off my face."

Sasuke gave me a look, and shook his head at my choice of wording.

I pulled myself away from him, and went to grab the phone. Stupid landline starting ringing just as I was about to dial, and I hit the talk button with a sigh. "Hello?"

"Sakura?"

"Oh, hey Hinata, what's up?"

"Not much, but Tenten and I are bored out of our minds, and we don't know what to do. What'cha doing right now?"

"Well, I was about to call Tsunade and yell at her because I'm just about going crazy with all this waiting. If I'm lucky, she'll have something for me to do. If I'm really lucky, she'll let me go help Anko."

I heard Sasuke growl behind me, and I knew that if he had anything to say about it, I would _not_ be going to help Anko. I figured he'd have _plenty_ to say about it, too, the jerk.

The other end was quiet, and I knew Hinata was waiting for me to continue. I suddenly felt like I should be doing girly things if I wanted to live. "Hey, you wanna come over? You might as well bring Tenten and the guys, and then we'll kick the boys out and watch movies and eat ice cream, okay?"

"Sure! I'll see you in a bit!" And then the phone line died, and I wanted to whack my head against a wall. What was I thinking, not a minute and a half ago? I'm having trouble being constantly surrounded by people!

I muttered ungratefully to myself, and I decided that locking myself in my room would be a good idea.

Thankfully, Sasuke noted the look on my face, and let me go on my own. I really wasn't in the mood for company right now. I needed to be alone until Hinata and Tenten and the guys got here.

Besides, I was totally planning on kicking the guys out. Maybe that way, I wouldn't feel so constantly watched. Sigh.

I walked into my bedroom, and closed the door behind me, and then I leaned back against it, and I stared around at the still-white _white-white-untainted-pure-white_ walls of my room, and I sighed.

I really needed a new paint job. Maybe I could get Hinata and Tenten to help. Even bright-coloured spray paint would be better then all this freakin' _white_.

Hm. I wonder if there's any in Kakashi's hiding-room-full-of-things-Anko-would-not-be-proud-of. You never know. There might be. I mean, seriously, the dude has porn in there. Porn and weapons, and I'm pretty damn sure he'll have spray paint.

So I left my room, and slipped downstairs, only to find that my house had been, once again, invaded by alien beings.

There was Hinata and Naruto, and Tenten and Neji, and I grinned at them. "Hello. Naruto, Neji, Sasuke's in the living room. Grab him, and go. We're having a girly day."

They all blinked at me like I'd gone crazy. I shot the boys my scariest look (because they weren't doing what I wanted them to do!), and the two of them inched away, while Hinata and Tenten just kind of laughed at them. It was funny.

I grinned happily _happily-happily-no-not-happy-crazy-crazy-crazy_ at the girls, and I motioned towards the weapons' room.

Tenten's eyes got wide, and then she was dashing ahead of us both, and she went and stared at all the pretty sharp shiny things while Hinata and I took our time. What's the point of rushing?

"Sakura, what's going on? You only have that grin when you're feeling like doing something reckless."

"We-ll," I said, drawing the word out "I feel like spray painting my room bright, ugly colours."

Hinata looked scandalized. "_Why_?!"

I shrugged. "Because I don't like white walls."

She grinned at me, a strange sparkle in her eyes, and I knew she agreed with me. White walls were just _gross_.

I thought that they were everything I'm not, and since it's _my_ room, it shouldn't be so… untainted.

When we got to the room, Tenten was already inside; her eyes shining as bright as the polished metal that lined the walls (and the floor, and every other surface possible to rest upon in this room…), and I knew she really was completely obsessed with sharp, shiny things that caused people extreme pain. Weird chick.

While Tenten and Hinata looked around the room (Tenten squealing every now and then, Hinata obviously very used to the other girl's outbursts about weaponry), I went and picked around Kakashi's hiding place.

Kunai, porn, goo-monster (this was one of Kakashi's more spectacular failed cooking experiments), more porn, kunai, porn, porn, a weird drawing that looked like it was signed by a six-year-old (I think that's my six-year-old signature, actually…), more porn (why does he have _so much porn_?!), and SPRAY-PAINT!!!

I grabbed the bright blue canister, and tugged it out. To my surprise and delight, there were several other canisters, all in bright, rainbow colours that I immediately liked. Well, it didn't take a rocket scientist to know why he hid these.

I would have stolen them and used them all a long time ago.

Which is what I'm doing right now, but shush. What he doesn't know won't hurt him, and ever if he _did_ find out, he wouldn't tell Anko, because she'd wonder where he hid them, and then he'd have to tell her about the porn stash. Ha.

I tossed the lurid green canister up in the air with a laugh. I had what I came here for, and now there was no reason to stay.

Well, except Tenten's squealing over the artillery. I sighed, and had Hinata help me drag the other brunette out of there.

If I hadn't, we probably would have been stuck with a squealing Tenten for another few hours, and I wasn't really in the mood for that. I was in the mood for _tagging_.

Now that Tenten was out of her beloved weapons room, she seemed a little… subdued. Weird.

"Tenny, what's wrong?" Obviously, Hinata was thinking along the same lines as I was. She's _never_ this quiet.

Tenten wrapped her arms around herself, and it looked like she was trying to hold herself together. Why would it be like that? Tenten's strong…

"I just…" she shivered, "I dunno, I'm not feeling so good… I think I'm gonna go lie down on the couch for a bit, 'kay?"

Hinata and I both nodded, but when she turned away, we each shot each other worried looks. Something was wrong with Tenten, but we didn't know what it was. Well, not then, anyways.

So Tenten went and curled up on my favorite puke-orange couch, and Hinata and I ran upstairs, pulled some old, manky clothes on, and a couple of masks (no need to inhale the extra paint… not only is it nasty, it's poisonous as hell), and we started tagging my walls.

---

A few hours later, we started running out of paint. The walls were only half-painted, but the rainbow colours made me happy, and a little bit dizzy, with the way they swirled and blurred into each other.

It was kind of cool, and I liked it.

"Hey, Hinata, you think we should go find some more paint?"

Hinata nodded. "Yeah, we might as well. I mean, we're kinda running out…" she mumbled with a frown, and I knew she was having as much fun as I was, dancing around and tagging the walls and just being idiots in general.

The two of us ended up lying on my bed, staring at my stuccoed, still-white _ugly-white-white-white_ ceiling, and we sighed in unison.

Stucco really is very ugly, and we were running out of paint. We need to get some more. "Hey, Hina, do you know where to get more paint?"

She half-shrugged. "I dunno, but we should probably find out. Y'think there's any more in Kakashi's porn-hiding-spot?"

"Maybe, but I doubt it. I went through that thing pretty thoroughly, and there was just more porn. And the goo-monster looked like it grew again."

Hinata raised an eyebrow at me. "Did you just say 'goo-moster'?"

I nodded. "Yup. Kakashi and I don't cook. That was the result of one of his experiments. I don't even know what he put in it, but it was _alive_."

Hinata sent me a slightly scared look, and muttered "Even your family's _cooking_ causes dangerous mutations of the natural world. That's not _normal_, Sakura."

I shrugged, and sent her a grimace. "You get used to Kakashi's cooking quickly, and you learn not to eat it even faster. His cooking _is_ considered a lethal weapon."

She blinked at me, sensing the story behind my words, and nodded to tell me to continue. I half-smiled-half-smirked at her.

"Well, you know how Tsunade has Shizune catalogue everything that can be termed deadly?"

She nodded, and I continued. "Well, one day she came to visit us, her and Shizune and Genma and the Perv Sage, and Anko told Kakashi to make a _salad_. He did, but Tsunade decided not to call it a 'salad'. She called it a 'flesh-eating-slug-thing', and told Shizune to place Kakashi's cooking under the list of 'possible future weapons of mass destruction'."

I smirked as I remembered his reaction. "She basically ordered him to never cook again, and the goo-monster lost its 'friends'."

Hinata just blinked at me. "I was wondering why 'Hatake's cooking' was on that list. I just never had the guts to ask."

I laughed. "You do have guts Hinata. More then I have. Now, let's go get Tenten, and go buy some more paint, and finish up my room, and then we'll go bother Tsunade for a job or two. Maybe we'll get to do some 'exorcizing'."

We both rolled our eyes at Tsunade's choice of wording. Killing a leech is killing a leech. And there is really no other way to put it, and no matter how nice you make it, it doesn't make the act any less revolting.

Because, seriously, that gargling sound is less then nice. It's more then revolting, which is saying something. It's more revolting then the goo-monster. And there is _nothing_ more then revolting then Kakashi's goo-monster.

We slipped into the living room, and found Tenten curled up into a ball on my ever-so-loved ugly orange couch. I looked at her, worried. She was clutching her stomach, and whimpering in her sleep.

"She looks like she's _pain_…"

"I know… it's weird."

"C'mon, let's wake her up." And as I finished saying it, I tossed a pillow at Tenten's head, because I had a feeling that she'd be violent when woken up unexpectedly.

She screamed, and jumped up, in the process drawing the twin black silver swords I'd giver her out of their sheaths.

Dude, she even _slept_ with them on?

Hinata voice was calming when she spoke. "Tenny, calm down, we're right here, nothing is going to harm you."

Tenten stood very still for a few seconds, and then took a deep, shuddering breath, and then she collapsed. Hinata, being the lifesaver that she is, had obviously expected this, and rushed to catch the other girl as she fell.

I just kind of stood there, looking like an idiot while Hinata took care of the shaking Tenten. And now I was honestly wondering what it was that had made Tenten like this, because she was _never_ like this.

"Sakura, take Tenten, I'm going to make some tea. Bring her into the kitchen."

I nodded, and immediately obeyed Hinata. When she uses a certain tone of voice that I'm _sure_ she learned from Tsunade, one simply does not disobey her. It's just not done.

So I grabbed Tenten out of Hinata's arms, grunting with the effort. Tenten was made solely of muscle, and muscle is five times heavier then fat. This was not helping my case as I dragged her into the kitchen.

Hinata was already fixing tea. That girl is incredible. I don't know how she does it.

I propped Tenten carefully into a chair, and I sat down across from her, and watched as Hinata shoved a steaming cup of what I supposed was tea into her hands, and glared at her until she drank it.

When the steaming cup was replaced by a second, and finally a third, Hinata seemed mollified. But I wasn't.

I needed to know why this had happened.

"Tenten, what was _that_ about?"

She laughed hoarsely. "I've been away from Neji for too long."

Both Hinata and I blinked at her, looked at each other, blinked, and then looked back at her. "Too long?"

She nodded, her bangs falling across her eyes. "He's probably feeling as shitty as I am, right now. We've been apart for _too long_."

"Explain. Right now. Hinata, call Neji."

She nodded, the skin around her eyes tight as she stared at Tenten. There was something going on here that I didn't understand, and I wasn't going to be leaving until I _did_ understand.

"No, Hina needs to know, too… call him after."

So Hinata sat down next to me, and the two of us stared at her. She laughed hoarsely again, her voice raspy, like nails on chalkboard.

It was teeth-grating sound, and I hated it, but I nodded at her to tell her to go on and explain.

"Hinata, do you remember that mission Tsunade gave Neji and I three years ago? The one we got in July?"

Hinata nodded, and her mouth tightened. Oh dear. _That_ couldn't be good… "You mean the one where you both came back completely normal, but we'd watched you sustain injuries that would have killed any other normal human?"

Tenten nodded, a strange, angry sparkle in her eyes. "That one."

"What about it?"

"Well, there was one point where the cameras went out, and the time they were out was about an hour, right?"

"How do you know that?"

"Because Neji put them out. I was… He was… _We_ were _dying_. And he didn't want you all to see what he was going to do to keep me alive."

She laughed again, hoarse and bitter. "He mixed both his blood and mine with the blood of a live vampire. I still don't know how he managed that, but he did, and we both drank it."

She took another shuddering breath, and I waited to feel the disgust I was sure would come. It never did. I would have to ponder that later, when I had time to think. Tenten was still talking.

"-And then he killed the thing, and it was like a shock of pain went through me, but then it was gone, and there was just this _awareness_ of Neji at the edge of my consciousness. It was like I could _feel_ him."

"So why are you like _this_?!"

"Because we found out that we can't be away from each other. It actually _hurts_. Like, there's physical pain involved in being away from him for too long."

"Why is that?" I asked, but it was Hinata who answered me, not Tenten.

"Well, it might be because they've had each other's blood. You know how potent blood is, Sakura, especially when mixed with a vampires'. It's a blood bond, is what it is."

I shuddered. The thought of being blood-bonded to _anyone_ is a scary thought to me, because it's basically total control over the other person. But if the blood bond is _mutual_…

Wow, that's a _scary_ thought. Having total control over another person, and them having total control over you… But I didn't know it caused _pain_…

"but that doesn't explain why it causes _pain_, Hinata. That part doesn't make sense."

"Yes, it does. Think about it, they were both blood-bonded to this vampire, but Neji _killed_ him, before he could obviously use the blood bond, so of course the blood bond is going to cause them pain whenever they're apart. It doesn't want to stop existing, either, so it'll do everything it can to make sure they protect each other. The pain is the blood bond's way of keeping Neji and Tenten in check."

"So we need to get them together, basically right now?"

"Neji's coming," Tenten whispered, her hoarse voice suddenly dropping in volume, but spiking in excitement. How she knows this, I don't know. Maybe it's that awareness thing she was talking about.

A few seconds later, Sasuke and Naruto barged in, dragging a half-dead Neji with them. They obviously didn't know what was wrong with him, either, and they thought to bring him back here. That was the smartest thing they could have done, given the circumstances.

"Neji!" Tenten whispered again, and tackled him to the ground, taking him right out of Naruto and Sasuke's grip. It was weird, actually, how fast his normally pale skin (at the moment, it was ice-white, and it was kinda scary) regained its pallor.

The two of them just sat there, staring into each other's eyes, and whispering nonsense to each other, on the kitchen floor. It suddenly felt like the four of us were intruding on something very private, something that should _not_ have been watched.

Hinata and I decided to give them their privacy, and we dragged Naruto and Sasuke, respectively, out of there. The boys were staring. It was obvious they'd never seen either of them like that before.

Once we were out of the kitchen, Sasuke sat down on the comfy puke-orange couch, and pulled me with him, the bastard. I ended up half sitting on top of him, and Naruto and Hinata curled up in the same chair.

Talk about awkward.

"What was _that_ about? It was like Neji just collapsed!"

I nodded grimly at Naruto. "Tenten did the same, and there was a whole story there, but Hinata probably remembers it better then I do, so I'm going to let her do the talking."

They nodded, and turned and stared at Hinata, waiting for her to explain. She blushed at their intense stares, or it just might have been the fact that she still wasn't used to Naruto being constantly so close. But she took a deep breath, and explained Neji and Tenten's situation (or what we knew of it) to the two of them.

The boys looked astounded. I don't blame them; I was a little freaked out by it, myself.

And I really wasn't concentrating so well, as Sasuke was currently skimming his fingers along the back of my neck, and very, very, _very_ lightly down my spine. It was chilling in so many ways, but _so nice_ in so many others.

I rolled in his grip slightly, and muttered into his ear "Let me go, you creepo." He chuckled, but he didn't quit his ministrations. Damn. Hinata and Naruto were still talking, but I couldn't concentrate on the words, not when Sasuke was doing _this_.

But, I wasn't all that inclined to move. I like being lazy. And I _certainly_ like this. I don't have to do anything, and I've got _shivers_.

But then, of course, the phone rang. Fuck me.

Hinata picked it up, and Sasuke and I both stopped breathing (yes, we were pressed that close together) when her eyes went wide, and strangely dead. She handed the phone to me, silently, so silently that it terrified me.

"Hello?" I whispered into the receiver.

"Get down to HQ _now_. We have a job for the six of you."

"What're we doing?" I didn't even bother asking how she knew that there were six of us here. This was Tsunade. She _always_ knows things like that.

"Too dangerous over the phone. Get down here now."

"Alright. Give us five minutes."

The line went dead, and I pulled myself off the couch and off of Sasuke, dragging him with me. "C'mon, help me get Neji and Tenten, Tsunade needs us. _All_ of us," I said, as if reminding Hinata that she, too, was needed in this new scheme of Tsunade's.

She nodded, her eyes slightly unfocused. She'd obviously just experienced the full effect of Tsunade's I-am-ruler-and-commander-of-all-things-important voice. It usually had the effect on those who hadn't heard it before.

It didn't do much for me anymore, because I'd heard her being angry like that so many times now, it was starting to get just a _little_ bit pathetic how much I don't care. Sigh. It's sad when I don't even care.

I dragged the other five out to the front door, and I basically booted them into getting ready. "Can we go, please? Hinata's still in shock from Tsunade's I-am-ruler voice, so can we go?!" I pointed out the door, and we all trudged out.

On the way out, I grabbed one of the key chains that were sitting on the counter, and hoped to god Kakashi hadn't taken the Viper, because I _liked_ the Viper. Although, honestly, it wasn't big enough for six people… It barely fit four. It was meant for two people.

I grabbed a second pair of keys, and was about to toss them to Naruto, but thought better of it. I'm pretty sure Kakashi wants whichever vehicle those keys belong to back in one piece. Instead, I tossed them to Hinata. She looked pleased.

The six of us went into the garage, and I clicked the little finder-thing on it, and the Viper blinked at me. I cheered, and raced over to it, and I was about to hop into the driver's seat, but Sasuke beat to it. How he did this, I'll never know.

He reached for the keys, and I grudgingly tossed them to him. I hate the fact that he's such a good driver. Given the fact that he likes to at _least_ double the speed limit (damn Kakashi and his love of radar detectors…), I'm surprised I haven't died yet.

Actually, I'm surprised at how much I _trust_ Sasuke in a vehicle.

I sank down into the passenger seat with a yawn, and gave him a pointed look that said 'get-going-now-I-don't-care-what-you-think'. And he got going.

I knew Hinata had given Naruto the keys (damn her to hell; she's paying for that car if it gets a single scratch), and I knew that Naruto probably drove as badly as Sasuke did.

Boys are just weird like that. They all have this thing for driving very fast, and very badly. This is proved by basically every male I know, and I wince as Sasuke triples the speed limit, Naruto right behind him.

I dig my fingers into the leather of the seat, and I hope to god that we get there fast, and that Sasuke doesn't hit any unwitting citizen. He slammed the wheel to the side, and I watched him flick some ponding hard rock on, and part of me sighed in relief.

I love hard rock, really, I do.

I _really_ don't want to deal with a lawsuit right now… It would _not_ look good on a resume.

---

Tsunade was sitting in her chair, her fingers tapping together, slowly, slowly, and she looked exactly like Mr. Burns! What the hell?!

"Grammy, what'cha want?" yelled Naruto, and I watched Tsunade wince in some satisfaction. Naruto could be _really_ loud when he wanted to be.

She completely ignored him, and looked at Hinata and Tenten and I. "I have a job for you three. The boys can go with you, because you're as bad as Kakashi, Genma, and Asuma are for that. But the girls are _undercover_."

She sent them a fierce glare. "Under _no_ circumstances are you to get in the way of this. If they need to do something, let them do it, and I'm sending this to you and Naruto for a reason, Sasuke, because I know you'll try to stop them if you can."

I blinked at her. "What? What're we doing?"

Tsunade sighed. "How much would you hate me if I asked you to make a blood pact with Silver?"


	14. Chapter 14

More Breaking Benjamin. 'You Fight Me', this time. And also Skillet.

**Disclaimer**: Still not mine. Why do you even ask?

**Dedication:** To all the wonderful reviewers.

---

I stared at her, shocked. No. I was _not_ making a blood pact. _No_.

But it was Sasuke who snarled and wrapped his arms around me from behind. "Tsunade, that will _never_ happen," he growled out, and I wanted to shush him for being such an ass to her, but he was right.

I'd seen what a blood pact had done to Neji and Tenten. I wasn't going to let anything like that happen to me.

Hinata was standing at my right side, her eyes wide and scared. And Naruto, Naruto was growling, more darkly and more lowly then Sasuke was, but it was there. Tenten and Neji were clinging to each other, on my left.

And then I realized that I had friends, and that I didn't _want_ to leave them.

Tsunade half-smiled at us, her lips curving upwards, and a strange look in her eyes. I'd seen that look before; Anko gave it to me whenever she saw me with Sasuke. Damn it, that couldn't be good…

"I said 'How much would you hate me _if_ I asked you to make a blood pact?' I never said it _had_ to happen. And I was asking Sakura, not you, Uchiha." We all noted the use of his last name, and we all knew that if Tsunade really wanted this, then she would just order it, and it would happen.

If only because I never go against orders. But she had asked me a question, and I was going to answer it honestly. "I'd hate you for a _really_ long time, Tsunade, and I really don't want to have to do that."

She sighed again, but it was a different type of sigh, more satisfied then sad. "Good. No, you're not making a blood pact with him, but…" she trailed off, and I didn't like the sound of this.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our world is changing. Our enemies are getting stronger and stronger, and certain sacrifices are needed to be made. Thankfully, I refuse to allow blood pacts to happen under my watch, excusing," she nodded at Neji and Tenten, "The two of them."

"So what do you want us to do? I'm not making any fucked-up pact with Silver. I _hate_ him, Tsunade, and you know that. Blood-pact or no, we won't work together. And I'm pretty sure this one," I jerked my head at Sasuke, who was still growling "Wouldn't like it too much, you think?"

She nodded at my assessment, and I knew I was safe.

"I had to suggest it, the council wanted me to. I'm sorry Sakura. But anyways, the other reason why I called you down here is very simple."

"Okay, what is it?"

"You remember that I said I have a job for the three of you? Well, you're going undercover, back to the hotel where Anko and Kakashi and the others are."

I stared at her. There was underlying urgency in her words, and I was suddenly terrified for the adults I had loved my entire life.

"We haven't heard from them in three days, and I'm starting to get worried. You're going back there, and investigating why we haven't heard from them. It's not like Anko not to call."

I looked at Tsunade, baffled. "But I talked to her like… yesterday!"

Tsunade shook her head, slowly. "No Sakura, I don't think you did. Somehow, I don't think that was Anko."

I heard a sharp intake of breath, and then I realized that it was mine. If I hadn't been speaking to Anko… who _had_ I been speaking to?! Tsunade knew what I was thinking, probably from the look on my face. "You may have been speaking to… well, you weren't speaking to Anko."

I shook my head, and watched my vision spin. "But I heard Kurenai! And I _know_ Anko's voice! No one can fake someone else's voice!"

Tsunade shook her head, all slowly again, but she didn't disagree with me. "Either way, it doesn't matter. You all are going there, and I expect _daily_ reports Sakura."

Her voice went steely. "And if you find that my top six agents are dead, I want you back here _immediately_. I don't care how many humans have to die, I want their bodies back."

I clenched my jaw. _No_. Anko and Kakashi were _not_ dead. Tsunade was just giving us a warning, in case it _did_ happen. But it wouldn't. It _couldn't_.

I took a deep, calming breath, and nodded. The only thing I could do now was accept the orders, and go with it. "When do we leave?"

""Preferably now, but tonight is what I'm expecting of you. Go back home, get cleaned up, pack, and be ready to go by eight."

Sasuke hands, which had yet to leave my waist, gently pulled me towards the door. Tsunade looked down, at the papers on her desk, and I knew we were dismissed. I was never more miserable to leave that tiny, cramped, badly lit space, and to break out into icy white sunlight.

I smiled bitterly at the five other people with me. Sasuke was still holding onto me, his fingers never leaving mine.

I was happy for it. My heart hurt, and I didn't want to be alone right now. The thought of being alone scared me.

"So where do we go now?" I asked.

Tenten shrugged, her body still close to Neji's, and I tilted my head at her when she spoke. "I don't really have anywhere. I'm an orphan, you know?"

"Then let's split up, and meet back at my house." I paused, and thought for a moment. "God, this is almost becoming routine, huh?"

Hinata laughed, and linked her fingers through Naruto's, and pulled him forward with her, until he was running down the street with her, laughing happily in the crystal clear air. I watched him pick her up and swing her around and around, the sunlight bouncing off her blue hair _blue-as-the-sky-just-as-the-sun-sets_, and I thought that they were going to be very happy for a very long time.

I looked over at Sasuke, and whispered "They're almost unfair, you know?"

"Yeah," he whispered back, "I know."

---

I stared up at the ceiling of my still-half-painted bedroom, the walls no longer white, but now were a rainbow of colours that I couldn't name _like-red-and-blue-and-yellow-and-pink-and-green-and-and-and…_

Sasuke was lying next to me.

He never left me alone, anymore. I don't blame him; I think he thought that I was going to kill myself or something.

Because after the others had gone off in their own directions, I had felt slightly sick, and I had wanted to go find a corner to curl up in and _die_. Or maybe just puke my lungs out.

I feel like that a lot, actually.

We lay there in complete, perfect silence. I love silence. It's such a beautiful thing. And there were so many things I wanted to say, but I didn't want to ruin that ideal, innocent, golden silence.

"Princess…" Damn him, he ruined it.

"Hm?"

"We might die."

I nodded at the ceiling. I knew that. We _all_ knew that. But I didn't want to know where this talk was going, so I decided to play dumb. "Sasuke, _everyone_ dies."

"We might die _tonight_," he clarified, and I wanted to wince.

"So? There's usually this probability that _someone_ is going to die."

"Do you want to die?" he asked, and I actually winced this time. Why did he have to ask such annoyingly hard to answer questions?

I shook my head. "No one wants to die. It's the reason why leeches tend to have so much success in this world. It blows." I growled as I ended the statement, because it was true.

"Sakura, I asked if _you_ want to die, not everyone else."

I sighed. "No, I don't want to die."

"Why not?"

I shrugged, my many pillows curling about my shoulders, and I grumbled softly. Why was he asking so many questions?

"Why do you want to know?" Honestly, I really don't get him. He loves playing twenty questions, but he'll never answer any of mine!

He shrugged back. "I want to know you."

I rolled onto my side, and stared at him. Why did he have to make every single little emotion I felt feel a hundred times stronger?! Because right now, I want to not only kick him, I want to kiss him, and I am really starting to hate this confusing-emotions crap!

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

I laughed, softly _softly-softly-what-are-you-trying-to-hide-softly_, and mumbled "That doesn't really help me."

"I know it doesn't."

"So just… talk? Tell you everything?"

He nodded, and I looked at him for another minute. "Only on one condition."

"Shoot."

"You tell me everything, too. It's only fair."

He nodded again, and I half-smiled at him. He stared at me, and then said "Start there."

"There? Where?" I asked him. I was totally confused.

"With that smile. Where'd you get that smile?"

I smiled that half-smile again, and I whispered into the continually-still air "Anko. It's Anko's smile."

He sort of grinned at me, and I felt my heart do some weird dying-bird flip-flop flutter thing. I wanted to close my eyes, but I didn't, because I didn't want to miss the look on his face when I told him about the first time I'd been locked in a closet.

I took a deep breath, and began my monologue.

I told him about nights spent lying on rooftops in New York, looking for stars in the night sky but never finding them because the lights from the city blurred them out, and about spring days spent in Washington, staring at the pretty cherry blossom trees, and about Tokyo's sky scrapers and the weird fashion trends there and about the amazing drifting races I'd come to love, and about Toronto, where Anko had nearly been killed, and where Argent was still buried.

I told him every leech encounter I could remember, and I told him everything I knew about Silver, and every other leech I'd ever met, and I told him how much I hated crying, because crying was weak, and I hated weakness in myself.

I told him about Anko and Kakashi' wedding, and I told him that I'd never really had friends. I told him about growing up with Kurenai and Shizune as older sisters, and about Asuma and Genma and Gai as crazy older brothers, and about having Tsunade as a hard-assed grandmother. I told him about Lee, and how over-the-top he was, and about Shino, a strange kid I'd met once in my life, when Kakashi thought that I needed friends to survive.

I told him that I didn't even really consider my blood relations my family anymore, because they were just all gone, and that Anko and Kakashi were my family now.

I told him everything.

And then he, in turn, told me his stories. So I listened quietly while he told me what his older brother had been like, and what his favorite foods were.

He told me about growing up here, in Konoha, with so many other kids around, even though a good three-quarters of the time he just wanted to be left alone. He told me what it like coming home to a blood-splattered house, and seeing his father shielding his mother and Itachi, and his mother screaming for him to run. I laced my fingers through his during that part, because he looked like he still wasn't over it, and I don't blame him for that fact.

He told me how much growing up alone had hurt.

He told me what meeting a child Naruto was like, and how strange the sunny-haired boy had been, even then. I giggled, because Naruto really _was_ strange, albeit in a good way. He told me about Shikamaru, too damn smart for his own lazy good, and Temari, from a desert town in the south, and how they spent most of their time fighting, but they couldn't deal with anyone else on a daily basis. He told me about Karin and Suigetsu, and how they'd been found in a ghost town together, all alone, and how often they had screaming matches. When he said that, I remembered what Hinata had said about the make-up sex. Yummy.

He told me what meeting Kaeleo had been like, and how that whole nine-year-old meeting had changed him forever.

He told me everything, and I think that part of me loved him, right then, because Sasuke never opened up, not to anyone, or so Hinata told me.

And then everything was quiet for a while, because we were both as packed as we could be, and we were just playing the waiting game again. Waiting, waiting, _wait-wait-waiting­_ for something to happen.

---

And then we were driving again, heading back to that hated part of town. Sasuke was in the driver's seat, and I was half-asleep. I love cars, but I still prefer motorcycles.

And honestly, you can't ride a motorcycle to school, and _not_ expect to get attacked by boys, which is why I never rode mine.

Besides. My bike belonged on skyways in the middle of the night in New York, not on normal roads in a tiny city. I looked out the windows at the passing suburbs, distaste staining the inside of my mouth.

The sun wasn't even out today.

It was hiding in the clouds, and that gave me a bad feeling. I don't like it when the sun's not out; because that means the leeches have plenty of opportunities to go out and have a meal. Blah. Although, considering, it didn't really matter, because the sun's setting, and it's like watching a losing battle over and over and over again.

I saw Naruto's probably-stolen convertible Ferrari smoothly join Kakashi's Viper, and I could see that Tenten and Neji were curled up in the back together. Nothing new there.

I watched the city lights flash over my face, and I yawned. I know we're going to be there, soon now, soon, but I'm so tired.

I don't even register it when we pull up to the hotel from before, and Sasuke carries me in. I'm already asleep.

---

I woke up the next morning in a strangely familiar room. I blinked the sleep out of my eyes, and I suddenly felt a very strange sense that something, or someone, was missing. I couldn't put my finger on it, and I let out a worn out sigh.

I sat up, and I ran my fingers through my snarled hair, and then I let out another exhausted groan. I yawned, and looked around the yucky hotel room. It was the same one we'd stayed in last time, but they'd replaced the bathroom door.

Snort. The poor door.

I yawned again, and plugged my iPod into the speakers. Hard rock blasted through the speakers, and I sighed in satisfaction.

This place may have been shitty, but they had good speakers, and that was enough for me.

And I really love hard rock.

I laid down on the bed, face down, and let the bass pound through me. I mumbled the words along with the singer, and I didn't hear the bathroom door open and close.

So it more then slightly freaked me out when I felt lukewarm drops of water hit the back of my neck.

"_GAH_!!!" I screamed, and I whipped around (or, at least, I _tried_, considering that I was curled up on a _bed_), and I half wanted to punch and/or kick whoever it was. When I finally flipped myself over, I realized that I was looking up at Sasuke.

And then I realized that he was only wearing a towel, and that half-want tripled, and I glared up at him, trying (and probably failing miserably) to look unimpressed. Actually, I kind of had an urge to jump him, but I squashed it.

I was _not_ letting this insane urge have its way. The _last_ insane urge that got it's way… Well, let's not talk about that, shall we? I continued to glare up at him. "Put some pants on, Sasuke."

He smirked down at me, and I watched a droplet of water trace it's way down his neck. "Are you sure?"

The innuendo in those three words has staggering. I glared harder, and tried not to notice the fact that he was _very_ attractive. "Yes. Now go put some pants on before I freak out and kill you."

He continued to smirk at me, and I continued to glare at him, and, just like everything else with Sasuke and I, it probably wouldn't have ended for a very long time (probably not until one of us died), but then the door-bell-knocker thing rang.

Damn.

So I went and opened the door, conveniently forgetting that Sasuke wasn't exactly wearing clothes. He growled at me as I did it, and he sounded annoyed, and it was funny. Pfft, I don't care what he thinks, it's just Sasuke.

It was Hinata and Naruto at the door. I ushered them in, and then closed the door with a quiet 'ka-chik'. If Tenten and Neji wanted to come in, they could knock, too.

And then I looked at Hinata and Naruto, to watch their reactions to Sasuke in his state of undress. They had very different reactions, to put it mildly.

Naruto crowed and congratulated me on whipping his best friend into shape, which was kind of funny. Hinata turned red as a beet, and started stuttering, which, on the other hand, was _very_ funny. Poor Hinata. I'm so mean to her.

But poor Hinata's torture didn't last very long, because Naruto quickly covered her eyes, and sent a very protective-boyfriend glare at Sasuke.

I giggled. It was funny. Naruto glaring at a half-naked Sasuke because said boy was making the first boy's girlfriend blush, and then covering her eyes to make it easier on her, it was _funny_.

And then it got funnier when Hinata tried to pry Naruto's hands off her eyes, so that she could see what I was laughing at, and he just hid her face in his chest to keep her from having her mind scarred.

I broke down laughing, and I spent the next five minutes howling on the floor, laughing so hard that my ribs hurt. While everyone else stared at me like I'd gone mad, I slowly regained my composure. "Sasuke, put some pants on. That's the third time I've told you that, and no appreciates your scrawny, almost-naked body. So go. Now."

Of course, I was lying, but no one _else_ needed to know that…

He looked somehow offended (also very funny, because his eyes sort of crossed, and his lips curled up all weird in this lame attempt at a sneer…), and he stalked off, to find some pants, I presume.

I yawned yet again, and listened to the grumbling that was coming from my stomach. It wasn't quiet. Sigh. My stomach demanded food. Now, or so it said. And if I didn't feed it, very bad things would happen.

So I pulled Naruto and Hinata out of our room, with a yell over my shoulder to Sasuke, and the three of us went downstairs to eat the shitty continental breakfast that the hotel offered, and I was still creeped out by the front-desk guy, and he smiled all creepily at me again, and I shuddered.

Then Sasuke came down, and sat down with us, right next to me, and sent a fierce glare at the front-desk guy, and he stopped staring at me. Yay! No more creepy staring!

And then Neji and Tenten joined the other four of us, and they both looked a little annoyed to be up this early. I don't blame them; getting up early is pure hell.

And so the six of us were sitting there, at a dingy table in this ugly, dirty hotel lobby-place, and then Hinata said "So… what now? We're here, right?"

I shrugged, a grimace on my lips. "We go find my parents, I guess. Can anyone pick a lock?"

Neji nodded, and mumbled "I can." Naruto nodded as well, and said "Teme taught the both of us how to a while ago."

I grinned at him, and said "Good, then I need you to pick the lock on room… hmm, Tsunade said 212, 213, and 214… so Neji, you and Tenten take room 212, Naruto, you take Hinata and do room 214, and Sasuke and I'll go through 213. Is that okay?"

They all nodded. They also all knew why I wanted 213. It was Kakashi and Anko's room, and they knew that I wanted to search it myself.

I'm kind of obsessive-compulsive, so sue me.

And so then we walked up a flight of stairs, turned a corner, and looked down the hallway. I went straight to 213, and stared at the door. Damn. I didn't bring my picks with me.

Longingly, I watched Sasuke pull out a length of metal, and slip it into the key-hole. See, despite my dislike for crappy, old hotels, they do have an upside; they rarely have automated key cards, and picking a lock is easy enough.

I pushed the door open, and found, to my horror, utter chaos. There was black guck on the walls, and everything shred-able in the room had been shredded. There was white… fluff? …everywhere, as well, and then I realized that they were feathers.

I shook my head. A place like this shouldn't have been able to afford feather pillows. Actually, now that I think about it, they shouldn't have been able to afford a sound system like the one in our room, either.

There was something very, very, very bad going on, and I had a feeling that we'd need back-up. I decided to call Tsunade as soon as we got out of there, but I knew I was going to make the best of this situation while I had the chance.

I walked towards the closet, the one place that I knew Anko tended to hide things. I pulled the doors of it open with a wince, and I found both her, and Kakashi's, clothes. They weren't disturbed, and that weirded me out.

I pulled out one of Kakashi's leather jackets, and slipped it on. It smelled like him, and I was instantly reminded of safety. I shoved my hands in the pockets, and when my fingers brushed against something that crinkled, I yanked it out.

I was a slip of paper, that had Anko's writing on it. It was a phone number, and my name. I blinked at it, and then slipped it back in my pocket. "Sasuke! C'mere, we need to go through their clothes!"

"What?!"

I rolled my eyes. "Just get your ass over here, okay?"

So we went through their clothes for another hour, although Sasuke refused to touch anything of Anko's.

"You're stupid. They're just _clothes_."

"You mum is _scary_."

"Why do you say that?"

"Sakura, she managed to whip _Kakashi_. There is something very wrong with someone who is able to do something as impossible as whip Kakashi!"

I rolled my eyes at him again. "I have Kakashi whipped, and so does Tsunade! He's too lazy not to do what he's told! And he knows that if he _does_ avoid whatever it is he's being told to do, he'll get in trouble!"

He shook his head at me. "The females in your family are _scary_."

I rolled my eyes at him again, and examined another slip of paper, this one in what looked like Kakashi's writing. It said 'Brittl-' but the rest of the word was ripped off.

I growled. "Damn it, what _did_ this? This room is fucked twenty-one ways to Sunday, and I don't know where to start!"

Sasuke just shook his head at me again, and pulled me off the feather-strewn ground.

"Let's just get out of here."

"'Kay…" I mumbled, and followed him out, locking the door behind me. We'd be back later, but right now, we had to get the others, and get ready for patrol. Well, no, that was a lie, but I needed to get out of that room.

There was nothing that said "Hey, Anko and Kakashi are dead, too bad for you!", but it felt… wrong… in there. Like there was something missing in extreme proportions.

And I knew I'd spoken to Anko and Kurenai. I _knew_ it.

I shuddered, and wrapped my arms around myself. Sasuke, walking next to me, carefully dropped his arm over my shoulders. I blinked up at him, and then I smiled.

He sometimes has a strange aversion to touching me. I don't understand it, and I don't expect to, but that's okay.

He's still _mine_.


	15. Chapter 15

Ladies and gentlemen, I ADORE the fact that you want to send me characters, but seriously… I need guys, too. Not just girls. Girls can be bitches.

P.S. OMIGOD BLINK IS GETTING BACK TOGETHER!!!! -dies from the happiness-

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

**Dedication:** To **vine**, because she's writing a beautiful ShikaTema story that you ALL must go read!!! Now. GO.

---

Patrol was strangely quiet. I only killed two leeches, and we didn't go back to the hotel until dawn.

And then I fell into bed, and slept a good three-quarters of the day away. I hate missing out on my sleep. It's bad for my immune system, and honestly, I was in no mood to get sick.

Getting sick right now would not help us find Kakashi and Anko.

I flicked my gaze to the clock, and watched the glowing red letters slowly change from 4:48 to 4:49.

I heard the door open, but I didn't turn around. Whoever it was was breathing, soft, shallow, a slight bit nervous. Probably Hinata, then, because that's just how she breathes.

"Sakura?"

"I'm over here Hinata," I called, and she came over, and squinted at the work I was doing over my shoulder. This normally would have freaked me out, because I hate being watched when I'm working, but seriously, come one. It's Hinata. She's the least scary thing on the planet (except when she's destroying wooden dummies, because, let's face it, that was terrifying).

"What's that?" she asked, and I knew she was referring to the black sludge I was currently experimenting on.

I turned to look at her, and sent her a half-shrug. "It's the stuff we found in Kakashi and Anko's room, and in Kurenai and Asuma's. I don't know what it is, but I know it's organic - it's all carbon and hydrogen molecules. But they're… I dunno, it's like they _mutated_."

She blinked at me. "Can I take a look?"

I nodded, and carefully handed the microscope I was working with to her, careful not to adjust the focus. I had just gotten it right, I think, and I didn't want to fuck it up.

Hinata fiddled with said focus for a few seconds (life be damned, she'd probably made it clearer then I had… Please remember, I fail at intel, and research in general), and then carefully looked through it. She mumbled something to herself, and I realized she'd gone into researcher-mode.

So I let her sit down, and she went to work without even being told what to do. I knew she'd figure it out; she's _way_ smarter then I am, that's for sure.

So I decided to go and look for Tenten, because I was bored, and the boys had left a while ago to do some grocery shopping. Grocery shopping? My ass they were going grocery shopping. They wanted to do some scouting without us girls around.

They, all three of them, seem to have this idea in their heads that Hinata and Tenten and I can't take care of ourselves. I don't know where this clearly incorrect notion came from, but… it's rather annoying, to be quite honest.

I walked out into the hallway, and rap my knuckles lightly on the room next to ours, and the door was opened by a bleary-eyed Tenten. I grinned at her, and she grinned back at me, and then she let me in.

"Where's Hinata?"

I rolled my eyes with a laugh. "She's investigating that black sludge that we found in the other rooms."

Tenten chuckled. "So she did her researcher-mode thing on you?"

I nodded. "Yup, she did. Oh, hey, do you guys have cable in this room? Ours doesn't. It annoys me on many levels."

"Yeah, we do, the remote is… somewhere…" she said, and pointed vaguely in the direction of the TV. I rolled my eyes at her, and went to route out the remote, until deciding that I'd rather just change the channel by hand.

Remotes are kind of annoying, anyways.

I turned the TV on, and I guess Tenten went to go get changed into some clothes that weren't pajamas.

I yawned, and started watching Transformers.

Happy sigh. I love robots.

Especially huge-ass, organic-non-organic robots that _blow shit up_. Seriously. Best movie ever.

Tenten eventually came back in, and, after taking three seconds to find the remote (it was sitting on top of the TV… how I missed this, we will never know) she settled down on the bed next to me, and the two of us happily watched the movie together. When it ended, we channeled flicked for a bit.

Of course, that was until we came across the movie 'Enchanted', and decided to ruin it for each other, because we found a common annoyance with stupid love-story movies. Because, let's face it, real life does _not_ work like that.

And so we proceeded to rip the movie to shreds.

"Look at him! Look at his _pants_!" I snorted out, pointing out the horrid 14th-century-esque pants. Really. They're _terrible_.

Tenten shook her head sadly. "He fails at singing. If that's even his real voice, which I sincerely doubt."

I nodded sagely. "I think I must agree."

We continued in this vein for some time (commenting on the fact that birds do not fly into random homes and start singing, and that _no-one_ wears a bright, hellishly frilly, white dress like that to _anything_, because it's so totally impractical… and ugly. Very ugly), until eventually Hinata re-surfaced from my room, with some very… strange… news.

She sighed softly and rubbed her eyes. "Hina? I asked her, probably looking concerned.

"Sorry, it's just that… well… that black guck, it's not normal."

What'cha mean?" Tenten asked her, blinking at her, and then at me. I blinked back at her with a shrug, indicating my total lack of intelligence. I dunno, I couldn't figure that gross crap out…

"It's like poison," she said. "Like thick, concentrated poison. It's nothing I've ever seen before, and I've seen some pretty freakin' weird poisons, working with my father and Tsunade in the intel department."

We blinked at her. "Not getting it." I said.

Poor Hinata groaned. "You two are so dumb that it hurts my brain to even talk to you," she muttered, before continuing in a slightly louder voice, "It's not of human origin, or even of anything else we've ever seen. I'm not even sure if it's vampiric in origin, because I'm _seen_ vampire venom, I've seen the way it gnaws through steel, and it leaves holes."

She stopped, shook her head, and took a breath. "This is something totally different. It's like… hmmm… how do I explain this… If vampire venom is acid, then this is a super-strong base. It's like the opposite, you know? It'll still corrode skin, and plenty of other stuff, but… I dunno, it's just weird. Like, _really_ weird."

"So… what is it?"

She shook her head again, her eyes like closed window shutters, her mouth a thin line on her face. "I don't know. But whatever it is, I think it doesn't like us very much at all."

---

I gobbled down some golden-brown fries, sitting in a MacDonald's restaurant, right near our hotel. We still hadn't seen the boys, but none of us were worried. Tenten wasn't hurting, so Neji couldn't be far away. And if Neji wasn't far away, then neither were Sasuke and Naruto.

So it didn't really matter that we were totally ditching them by going out for dinner. They ditched us first!

And so there we were, sitting in a dingy Mickey D's, gobbling down unhealthy, but, at the same time, oh-so-good, fries. I groaned in something like happiness. Whenever Anko got a migraine (which, considering, was often enough), she'd send Kakashi out for fries.

I don't know why this is, but they always got rid of her headache, especially when she dipped them in chocolate milkshake (I continue to find this habit disgusting), which was exactly what Tenten was doing right at this moment.

I winkled my nose at her. "Tenten, how can you _eat_ that?"

She shrugged, and stuffed another milkshake-covered fry into her mouth. After she swallowed, she said "I dunno, it's something Tsunade does all the time. She told me to try it once, and I did… and it was like love at first taste."

I shook my head at her, my mouth probably gaping. "Damn, if Tsunade wanted to take over the world, she probably could…"

Hinata nodded sagely, and muttered in a snarky voice, "And like we would stop her!"

I laughed, and then noted with some panic that the fries were disappearing mysteriously fast. "Good point. Tenten, gimme some fries, you're ea-ting them a-ll!!! No-o-o-o-o!!! I wan-t some!!!"

Hinata, eating her own fries in a corner, snorted out a laugh into her milkshake, and tossed me a couple of dollars, and pointed in the direction of the counter. "Go buy your own, Sakura. Tenten, don't eat her fries."

She rolled her eyes. "_Why_ am I _always_ playing mother to you two?!" she muttered to herself with a groan, and Tenten and I snickered. Poor Hinata. I got up after that, taking Hinata's money with me, to buy some more fries, and, oh yeah… "Damn it, Tenten, you better not touch my damn milkshake! And if you do, I will be severely pissed!"

When I got back to the table (with a fresh batch of large fries, to boot), the sun was starting to go down. Hinata and Tenten were staring out the window at the sunset, all blood red and fire orange and dusky blue and soft pink and royal purple. I sat down next to Tenten, in my previous spot, and stared out the window with them. There was so little _time_…

So little time, because the faster the sun was going down, the faster we'd have to be out there on patrol, figuring out just _what_ the hell it is that's causing these people so much pain.

I winced as I thought of Emma, and the little boy. No child deserved to have something like that to deal with at such a young age.

It continued to be silent, for a while, and the three of us simply enjoyed it.

Of course, that was until Hinata's phone rang, and I covered my ears with a groan. I turned and looked at Tenten while Hinata pulled her phone out of her pocket.

"Ten bucks says it's Naruto."

"Twenty says it's Neji. The kid's _way_ too overprotective of his darling little cousin."

I grinned at her. "Done," I said, and waited for Hinata's reaction. If it was Neji, she'd hand the phone to Tenten almost immediately. If it was Naruto, I was probably going to have to break her hands to get the phone away from her. Hinata was _extremely_ attached to Naruto.

I smirked at Tenten when Hinata's eyes lit up, and she started in a conversation that I knew she and Naruto had been having earlier yesterday. "Pay up, Tenten, I'm buying more fries."

Tenten groaned, and was just about to hand me the cash, when we both noted the look on Hinata's face. It had gone from 'happy and carefree', to 'suddenly, inexplicably, concerned'. We both froze, and waited the three seconds it took for Hinata to get off the phone (a feat in itself, considering her adoration of Naruto's voice).

"We have to get back to the hotel, _right now_. Naruto says they've found something that we're not going to like."

I groaned. "Damn it! Tenten, pay me later. And, let's face it; we _never_ like anything the boys can cook up on their own…"

The other two nodded, grim looks on their faces. I grabbed my coat, and we dashed out of there, and ran the three blocks it took to get to the hotel.

We waited nervously for the elevator, reflexively clenching each other hands as we got up and went in. If one of them was dead (or hurt), I was _never_ going to forgive them. Wait, that couldn't be right, Tenten would have known if Neji was hurt, and Hinata talked to Naruto…

So it only could be Sasuke. My throat and jaw clenched involuntarily. Or maybe it was just my heart.

---

I shoved the door to my hotel room open, panic speeding my movements. _Sasuke-Sasuke-Sasuke-please-don't-be-dead-dead-dead_, giggles in my mind make me think of black eyes and white pupils and inky blue hair, and I shudder as skeletons dance through my subconscious, and everything is flashing black and white, and I'm _so worried_…

And then I saw Sasuke sitting there, like nothing was wrong, and I felt slightly sick.

I threw myself at him, and I ended up knocking the breath out of his lungs. We were pressed so close together, I could feel the air rush out of him.

"You _idiot_!" I screeched, my voice ripping through a half-octave on the last syllable. "What were you _thinking_?!"

He looked up at me, trying to catch his breath, and he seemed a little bit bewildered. Bewildered, my ass. "Sakura, were you _worried_ about me?" he asked me with a laugh.

I punch him in the gut, but I hissed out "_Yes_, I just _might_ have been. What was I supposed to think?! Tenten would have known if something had happened to Neji, and Hinata talked to Naruto! You were the only one not accounted for, you stupid asshole!!!"

He chuckled, his breath still raspy from having just been winded. "Sakura, turn around, and you'll see why we needed you girls to come back."

I pushed myself off his chest, and rolled over to look at the door. There, in the pretty-much-destroyed-by-me doorframe stood three girls, and three boys. I quickly identified the faces I knew; Temari, Karin, Ino, Shikamaru, and Suigetsu. There was also a boy I _didn't_ know, with an infectious grin much like Naruto's, and unruly brown hair.

A smile stretched my lips.

So they'd decided to send us back-up, after all.

---

It didn't take us long to get going. Temari and Shikamaru took over the research part of things almost immediately, and I watched Temari spend most of the time yelling at Shikamaru for being a lazy-ass.

Karin came and sat down on the bed next to me with a snort, Ino curling up next to the new boy on my other side, a coy grin on her lips as she nuzzled into his chest.

The new kid, the one I'd never met before, was named Kiba. Apparently, Ino had gotten annoyed with Sai and had dumped him on his ass. And now she was dating this new kid, and it was obvious to me that she really liked him.

They hadn't let go of each other in my sight, as of yet, so I think that's probably what tipped me off.

Karin poked me in the shoulder, and I blinked at her. "Wha-?" I mumbled. I was falling asleep by then. I get tired easily.

"Wake up, we should probably get ready for patrol. It's just us girls tonight, you and me and Hinata and Temari."

"Wha' bout Ino and Tenny?" I had picked up Hinata's nickname for the bun-haired girl, and despite my exhaustion, my interest was pique. Sasuke was letting me out, without being around? What was going on here?

She had obviously read what was going through my mind, because she grinned slightly evilly. "I prodded Suigetsu into keeping Sasuke out of it. And Ino's staying with Kiba, and… I dunno about Tenten."

I grinned sleepily at her. "That means you just kicked him in the shin, I'm guessing."

She smiled with a snicker. "Damn straight I kicked him into it. You know, I've never seen Sasuke this… uh… -protective, maybe?- of anyone. It's really kind of weird, and I've known him ever since he moved here.

I shrugged. "It's a long story."

"Tell me sometime?" she asked me, her eyes flashing behind her glasses with a mischievous intent that I grinned at. Karin had guts. I liked it.

"If we get out of this place alive, sure, why not?" I said with a grin

She grinned back at me, and turned her attention to the TV. There was nothing on, but it was more interesting then watching Ino and Kiba shove their tongues down each others throats. That was just slightly disturbing.

An at some point, both her and I screamed at the two of them to "GET A ROOM, DAMN YOU!!!", and they left, looking disgruntled. Karin and I gave each other high-fives, and settled down to wait util the others were ready to go.

Tenten came bounding in a few minutes later, in the process jumping on me and Karin and making the two of us groan in pain.

"Tenten, gerroff me!!" I yelled, but it didn't do too much. Tenten seemed to be very comfortable, sitting on top of me and Karin, as she was, nor did she seem like she was going to be moving any time soon.

I pushed her off me, and onto the floor, and I laughed when she hit the ground with a 'thud'.

She yelped, and just as she did, Neji came rushing into the room, looking for the source of whatever it was that was causing Tenten pain, and to destroy it. When he realized we were just having fun, he turned slightly pink, and skulked out of the room.

The three of us watched him go, more then amazed. Well, Karin and I were amazed. Tenten seemed used to it.

"Did he just… _blush_?!"

"Naw, he can't have!"

"The robot, showing emotion? It's just too weird!!!"

"I _totally_ agree. He's only like that about Tenny, which is kinda strange, and yet, it isn't."

Obviously, Karin didn't know about the blood-bond, and if she did, she didn't know the full extent of what it did to Tenten and Neji. I wasn't about to enlighten her, either, because it wasn't really my place.

And people who tell other people's secrets are on the same low level as hypocrites, in my mind. This is also why spies annoy me, especially when it comes to them snooping around what we do. Administering the serum that makes people forget what they've seen is never fun. I've only done it once, and I, uh, I kind of gave the poor guy too much… I made him forget everything that had happened in the past three years of his life, which included: his marriage, the birth of his first child, the death of both his parents, and the fact that he even went to spy school.

To put it mildly, Tsunade wasn't happy with me.

I sighed softly, and enjoyed the silence that had fallen. It wasn't awkward, the way silences sometimes are, when people don't know what to say, and when they don't know each other. No, this silence was comfortable.

It was a different comfortable then the comfortable silence I had achieved with Sasuke, but it was still nice all the same.

I yawned, and looked out the window. The sun had disappeared behind the clouds, leaving them gold-tinted and bloody red.

Time to get to work.

---

Hinata was snarling at the thing in front of us. Karin and Temari had gone off and were taking care of the east side, so that left Hinata and I to take care of the west side.

I had a sinking feeling we were going to get the worst of it.

I was right.

"Hina, get behind it; _behind_ it!" I screeched as the leech came flying at us. We split apart, and I dashed off to the right, and Hinata raced behind it.

There was something… off… about this leech. It was faster then normal, and stronger, too, but stupider, like someone had jacked it full of steroids. It reminded me of a big, dumb jock, and I glared at it, furious with myself.

I swung my rifle up, and sent another bullet through its shoulder. It howled in pain, and charged me.

It was only then that I realized that I was kind of backed up against a wall. _Shit_. I winced as I waited, and waited for it to give me an opening, and just as it was about to, the things head fell off.

I grinned at Hinata, breathing hard. "Damn, bitch, you just saved my life!"

She grinned back, still out of breath. "I had to wait… until it had… totally focused… on you."

I nodded. "Yeah, I know, don't worry about it. I'm not any worse off because of it, and this is good training for the both of us."

She had her breath back. "Did you notice the way they all seemed… I dunno… dumbed down?"

I nodded, the cogs in my mind working. "Don't you think it's kinda weird how the leeches are holding a council, and yet, every other leech that isn't noble seems dumber then normal? Because, face it, that trick wouldn't have worked on any leech with a normal amount of brains."

She nodded. "He was a steroidsaurus." Her lips twitched as she said the word.

I let out a snort of laugher, and checked the time. Three AM. "Damn, Hina, we should probably get back to the hotel, it's pretty damn late… And the boys'll be worried about us by now."

She shrugged. "They didn't want us to do this at all, you know that, right?"

I nodded, an annoyed grimace on my lips. "One day, we'll escape them, and we'll go to New York, and I'll show you what I grew up fighting. It was scary."

She grinned. "C'mon, let's get out of here."

And so we went, racing through dead-silent streets, where not a soul was awake.

We got back to the hotel, and the creeper gate-guy grinned maliciously at us (but what else is new, right?). I flipped him off, and we ran to the elevator, even though we were both past the point of over-exhaustion.

I pushed the door to my room open, and was horrified by what I saw.

Karin and Temari were sitting on the bed, looking like they had been torn to shreds. Karin was stitching a gash in her leg up, without anesthetic I would guess, from the way she was biting her lip to keep from screaming, and Temari had blood-soaked bandages wrapped around both of her forearms, and her fingers were _dripping_ with the thick red substance.

"What the hell…?" I asked.

Temari whipped her head up, her eyes sharp with pain. "There's something out there, Sakura."

"What?"

"Something big, something evil, and something that _really_ does _not_ like us."


	16. Chapter 16

Written to Three Days Grace and to Breaking Benjamin. If you do not know who I am talking about, go look them up. Now.

Also, this is the chapter where most of the nobles are introduced. Thanks goes to… a bunch of people, actually. **Ai Aika**, **Skelex**, **DevilToBeLoved**, **the tomato**, **cherryluver19**, **OnyxDragon2604**, **rEbEl-fOr-sHoW**, and **StOrM iS mY pOwEr**. If I forgot you, and you sent me a character that I used, _**PLEASE **_PM me to let me know, 'kay?

**Disclaimer:** Still not mine.

**Dedication:** Everyone who has sent me characters.

---

It was late morning when I woke up. After Hinata got Karin and Temari patched up, she sent them to bed.

"I don't want them re-living something hellish when they're obviously not ready for it. Let them rest for a bit. And we need sleep, too, so get some sleep, 'kay?"

So that was what I did. Sleep comes naturally to me, so it wasn't that hard to close my eyes and fall asleep.

I dreamt again, last night. There was music and Sasuke and _falling-falling-falling-into-the-sky_ and ringing laughter and children's songs _ring-around-the-rosy-pocket-full-of-posy_ and we all fall _down_. There was Hinata in a white dress and Naruto in a tux and happiness in the middle of summer, and everything swirled and I wasn't sure what was real.

And then I woke up.

I hate dreaming. It brings to the surface everything I hate about myself. So I didn't think much about the images running through my head. They don't mean anything. They never do. Dreams are the brains way of figuring out a very strange day.

I yawned, and I walked into the kitchen in my room. Sasuke was sitting at the table, his hands clenched around a coffee mug. I don't think he heard me come in, but I sincerely doubted. His guard was up, and his shoulders were tense.

"Sakura…?" he whispered in the still air.

I went down and sat down next to him. "Yeah?"

He laughed, so bitter, and it hurt to hear the sound. "You have… no idea what last night was like for me."

I tilted my head. "What'cha mean?" Had he been worried about Temari and Karin? That seemed really out of character for Sasuke.

"You were out there, all _alone_. Suigetsu had to _knock me out_ to keep me from going after you. And then when Karin and Temari got back…" he closed his eyes, hiding the dark wells of hurt from my view. "And they were hurt the way they were…"

He broke off again, before continuing. "Karin's good, and Temari is damn dangerous. If they were ripped to shreds the way they were, all I could think was that you were gonna die. I nearly went crazy."

I laughed softly. "Sasuke, you should know by now-"

But his lips covered mine, cutting my words off. It was urgent, and I could still taste the insanity on his tongue, and I knew without a doubt that if I went off on my own again, knocked out or not, Sasuke would follow me.

I knotted my fingers in his hair, and was thoroughly getting into it, when I heard the door open behind me, and I groaned, and half-heartedly tried to pull away. Sasuke growled, and pulled me closer, his arms tightening around my waist.

"Uhh, S-Sakura?!" Hinata's voice stuttered out, and I almost giggled. Poor Hinata, walking in on something like this. Her poor, virgin eyes must be burning right about now. But, then again, I doubt she was _that_ innocent… she had Naruto, after all.

I managed to turn my body around, still tight in Sasuke grip (_that_ didn't seem like it was going to be changing anytime soon…), and I blinked at Hinata. "Hina, what's up?"

"Tsunade's on the phone." Her voice sounded flat. Not good, coming from Hinata. Hinata's voice was _never_ that monotone.

She tossed me the phone, and I grabbed it out of the air, and put it to my ear. "Hello?"

"Sakura, I have a job for your team, and a bunch of information."

I glared at the ground. They are my _friends_. Not my _team_. It's a different kind of thing, if they go from being my team to my friends, but not the other way around.

"Alright, info first."

"It'll be coming into Shikamaru's computer now."

How she knew Shikamaru had a computer set up here, I don't know. And honestly, I didn't really _want_ to know, either.

"And the job?"

"Also coming in."

"So why did you contact me directly?" Tsunade, more then anybody, knows how dangerous telephones can be.

"Because I don't want you to disobey what those orders are about. The council has nothing to do with this, but I'm not about to say you're not in danger. All of you… well, you'll see."

I clenched my jaw. This couldn't be good. I heard the phone line die, and I wrenched myself out of Sasuke's grip. I turned away from him; I didn't want to see his face after that move, so I addressed Hinata. "Let's go find Shikamaru. I am going to kill Tsunade. I am going to _kill_ her."

Hinata nodded, and the two of left the room. The door clicked behind me. Sasuke didn't come out.

I expected him to. I really did. And it kind of hurt when he didn't. A little. Just a little. But I just set my jaw, and walked towards Shikamaru and Temari's room, right as Temari, arms still wrapped in bandages, came out.

She looked more then a little ruffled, and I smirked at her. "Naughty, naughty, hey Temari?"

She glared at me, but the look on her face was a smirk-smile. "That lazy bum has to be good for _something_…"

I grinned at her, but the tightness never left my face, and I think she noticed it, because she was looking at me weird, and she was staring at the brooding Hinata. Hinata _never_ broods. _Ever_. "Hey, is something up?"

I growled. "Yeah, we have to go talk to Shikamaru. You're coming, too, because you're as much part of this as we are. Tsunade's bitching again."

She rolled her eyes, and nodded. She turned around, pushed the door open, and Hinata and I followed her in.

The room was dark, and there was a huge, pulsing… thing… in the corner. It sort of looked like a computer. "What the hell is _that_?!"

Temari sighed. "It's Shika's computer. I don't even know how he got the pieces for it, but he did manage to. Don't even ask me how or why it's in here, I don't know. It just is. Shikamaru's more of a computer geek then _I_ am, and that's saying something." She shook her head ruefully.

Shikamaru was snoring, one of his arms thrown over his eyes to cover the glare from the computer. Temari kicked him. "Lazy ass, wake up! Sakura says Tsunade's bitching again."

He groaned, and I snorted a laugh. Hinata covered a smile with her hand, and we both rolled our eyes at the way Shikamaru and Temari treated each other. It wasn't as bad as the way Karin and Suigetsu were, but it was pretty damn funny.

"Say wha-?" muttered Shikamaru, and he cringed when Temari jumped on him and whacked him over the head. She sat on him, and jumped up and down (I have seen Anko do this to Kakashi when he's being lazy. It's a rather varied experience. Painful for Kakashi, funny for me, fun in general for Anko), until he pushed her off, and got up.

He caught by the wrist though, before she hit the floor. Awww, they're so cute it's almost sickening…. Not as cute as Naruto and Hinata, but pretty damn close.

Shikamaru still seemed half-asleep, but he gave me a sleepy-eyed stare, and said "What was Tsunade bitching about?"

"Check your computer. She said she was sending a bunch of mission details to your computer. How she knows you have a computer, don't ask me."

He shrugged, and mumbled something under his breath that I couldn't hear. I think it was probably along the lines of 'troublesome woman…' because Temari whacked him over the head again.

But he did as he was told, and went and poked the computer. I watched his fingers fly over the keyboard, back and forth, and I got a little dizzy as he brought up three or four different windows in about five seconds.

I looked away as the brightly-swirling colours stung my eyes _swirling-swirling-swirling-bright-lights-in-the-middle-of-the-night_ and, a few seconds later, I heard Shikamaru hiss.

_That_ couldn't be good…

I looked back at the brightly-glowing screen, and saw numbers and letters flashing across the screen. Pictures, too, and I saw a blonde girl with bright red eyes -flash- a boy with messy brown hair and an open smile -flash- Kakashi? -flash- _Mama_?! -flash- purple hair and a toothy, young smile -flash- reddish-brown hair in pigtails, tied with black bows -flash- Silver, with Argent -flash-… So many pictures. Some of them, I recognized; many, I didn't.

"Shikamaru, what the hell is _this_?!"

He groaned, and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Temari, who, a moment before, was looking annoyed, had a suddenly worried expression on her face. "You're so _dumb_, Shika…"

"S'not my fault, you never let me sleep…" he muttered back at her, and Hinata and I grinned at each other. Temari better have a _damn_ good explanation why she hasn't told us any of this…

"So what are we supposed to _do_? Tsunade didn't tell us."

His voice was a cross between bored and strained when he answered Hinata's question. "You two, and Naruto and Sasuke, and Tenten and Neji, you're all going to be getting dressed up tonight, and the next few nights."

I hissed. _Not_ good "_Why_?!"

He groaned again. "Because Tsunade has decided that you're going to be playing parley with the vampires. Tsuande's apparently sent something for you people to wear. Get dressed up pretty. You're in for a rough night."

I groaned, too. Oh no. Oh, god no.

---

When I got back into the room, holding the package full of clothes the front desk creeper guy had tossed at me, Sasuke was still standing where I left him. My heart did a weird, weak flutter, and then I told it to shut up and get a move on. He and I just looked at each other.

"That wasn't fair." I said.

"Neither is this." I dropped the package I was holding and then he was so close to me again, and it was like nothing had ever happened in the first place. Why the hell am I so _anal_ about stupid things?! Sasuke is Sasuke, and I'm not going to try and change that.

A few minutes later (or it might have been an hour later… I'm not really sure of time when Sasuke's around…), Sasuke looked down at me. "So what was Tsunade so pissy about?"

I groaned. "Damn, thanks for making me think about it… Kaeleo, you get to have some fun tonight. We're going to see the council."

Sasuke eye's lit with an unfamiliar light, and I knew without a doubt that Kaeleo had taken over. "Ah, so the old bat sees the promise in something like cooperation… Princess-"

And then Sasuke was back, gritting his teeth. "How many times do I have to tell you, you asshole?! Stay _out_ of my head!" He muttered incoherently for another few minutes, and I knew that he was mentally yelling at Kaeleo.

They had fights like this all the time, I was coming to find. Strangely, I was never very annoyed by Kaeleo. He just kind of showed up at inopportune times.

Sasuke finally managed to get control over the other persona in his head, but his breathing was hard. I'd never heard it like that before…

"Sasuke, what's wrong?"

His teeth were gritted when he answered me. "He's… fighting… Damn it, I wish you hadn't told him but…"

I wrapped my arms around his torso, very careful of the fact that his fists were tightly clenched, and I pulled myself very close to him. I measured each movement towards him, aware that both he and Kealeo were aware of it, too.

I gently pressed my lips against his, _mine-mine-mine-mine-mine_ and whispered " Sasuke, not Kaeleo. _Sasuke_."

And then he was grinning down at me, and he murmured "Thanks, princess."

I smiled quietly, and he hugged me closer. We stayed like that for a long time.

Until, of course, I realized that I had to get ready. I sighed, and went and grabbed the package of clothes (I guessed) off the floor. I glared down at it, and it glared up at me, and I tore it to shreds, as Sasuke watched in amusement. I didn't even look at the dress. I just stuffed the tux that was in there into Sasuke's arms, and rushed to the bathroom.

And then Ino appeared, holding a bag of something, and an evil look in her eyes. What the hell?!

"Sit down, Sakura. I have to make you pretty for the vampire lords and ladies."

My eyes widened, but I was trapped. "NOOOOOO!!!"

---

I stared down at the dress I was wearing in something like revulsion. It was _pink_.

Well, actually, it was slinky and black, with red and fuchsia cherry blossom petals scattered across it, origination from a flower burst just below my left shoulder. There were slits high up my thighs, too, leaving my movement wonderfully free, but it made me feel almost slutty, and the thing was strapless. So, not only did I feel like a slut, I was a slut who could barely breathe. Damn.

And my hair. My poor hair. After Ino had trapped me in the bathroom, she basically tackled me, tied me to a chair, and had done my hair and makeup (apparently, this was just procedure, because I didn't hear any screaming from Tenten and Hinata, and I _knew_ that Ino had done them as well, because she told me that I was last).

And so, now my bright red-pink hair was combed up into a delicate up-twist, with strands left to frame my face, and my eyes were 'smoky and seductive' according to Ino. Argh. Did I want to kill her? Very much so, yes.

God, I felt like some sort of Barbie. That was _hell_. _Period_.

And not only that, but I was wearing _heels_. How the hell is one supposed to run in _heels_?! Do you have _any_ idea how pissed off I am right now?! The entire time I'd been in Konoha (actually, just my entire life in general…) I'd protested wearing pretty dresses. But there I was, in a ballroom gown, conned into playing with leeches.

Why me?

I stared at the unfamiliar girl in the mirror for a few more seconds, and I had an urge to smash the mirror for reflecting such a fake image.

I quashed said urge, and then I stomped out of the bathroom, and right into someone's chest. I looked up, and saw Sasuke blinking down at me, something like wonder in his eyes.

"What?!" I asked him, annoyed. He was going to laugh at me for dressing up like a such a freakin' _girl_.

"You look… you look…"

"Like an idiot. I know."

"No," he shook his head, "You look incredible."

Okay, I wasn't expecting _that_… I looked up at him, and raised an eyebrow. "Are you ly-ing to me, Sasu-chan?" I asked him.

He smirked down at me. "Would I _ever_ lie to you, princess?"

I rolled my eyes, and playfully elbowed him in his tuxedo-clad stomach. Then I realized that he _was_ wearing a tuxedo, and I look him up and down, and then turned my raised-eyebrow into an eyebrow-wag. "Well, the princess needs her prince, and you certainly _look_ the part…"

I wasn't lying, either. He looked _sexy_. The tux he was wearing left nothing to the imagination, and yet everything at the same time, and ohhh, he was just so _yummy_…

It was his turn to roll his eyes, and, with an exaggerated flourish, he offered me his arm. I grinned up at him, pretty lips glossed pink and all, and linked our pinkies instead _because-you-still-don't-trust-trust-trust-him-do-you?-it-doesn't-matter-how-much-you-love-love-love-him…_

And then the two of us walked into the hallway, towards Naruto and Hinata's room. It wasn't a long walk, literally, they were next door, and I didn't even bother to knock. I just let Sasuke pick the lock.

And then I pushed the door open, to find Naruto staring at Hinata, his jaw nearly touching the floor.

Hell, I nearly _squealed_ when I saw her. The girl is too damn gorgeous for her own good, seriously, I mean _no one_ should look that pretty and not be a model!

She was dressed in a fashion similar to me, and yet so totally different, but it was _so awesome_.

She was wearing a slightly-above-the-knee length dress, and it hugged her every curve. It was white, had slender straps, and was covered in the most beautiful design I had ever seen in my entire life. It was the top of a tree, in varying shades of blue, its trunk starting at the bottom left corner of the dress, and the branches twisted themselves around her body, and my god, the girl looked gorgeous.

Ino had gone all-out on the poor girl. Even her hair, usually so straight and tidy, was curled into big, messy ringlets, and her eyes were made to look wide with the thick black eye liner, smoky and blue.

I could see why Naruto was staring at her the way he was.

She and I looked each other up and down for a minute, grins on our lips. And then we both got a case of the giggles, and we hugged each other. "Damn, we look _good_!" she whispered in my ear, and I nodded my agreement with a smirk.

I blinked, and looked around the room. Something, or someone (two someones, rather) was missing. "Where's Tenny?" I asked, and my answer was the door slamming open, emitting a _very_ annoyed, _very_ pretty Tenten, and a more-then-slightly-confused Neji.

Tenten was dressed the prettiest of us all, or so I thought. She was wearing a dusky, golden-red dress that swept the floor, and it cinched tight at the waist and around the chest because of the way the fabric was wrapped, in layers, back and forth over her chest. It was embroidered with intricate golden leaves and vines, thickly at the top, and then they scattered down the rest of the dress more thinly, so it looked like she was in a whirlwind of golden leaves. She looked like autumn.

But, then again, I could see why she was so pissed off. The way the dress was wrapped around her torso was, uh, at best, sort of revealing. Well, not really, it just showed off the fact that she had a figure, unlike the clothes she normally wore.

Both Hinata and I glomped her thoroughly, and we fed her a constant stream of compliments until she looked marginally more cheerful.

The boys looked at us like we were complete nutters. But that was okay, because the three of us were already very used to getting weird looks from random people. The three of us went into Hinata's bathroom, and we looked at ourselves in the mirror for a bit, poking and prodding, and figuring out if the pretty girls in the mirror were really Sakura, Hinata and Tenten.

After we had finished staring at the pretty girls in the mirror (and deciding that there was _no way_ in _hell_ that they were us), we looked at the boys.

They all had strange looks on their faces, mixes of awe and sadness.

"So… what do we do now?"

"We go into a viper's nest, that's what we do." Naruto said, his usually-happy voice somber.

"Let's go," said Sasuke.

And so we went.

---

I stared at the blood-bar with revulsion like lead in my stomach. I felt like I was gonna throw up. I hate places like this.

I clutched Sasuke's fingers tightly in my own, and I raised my head high. We had been invited here, and if the so much as _touched_ any one of us, there would be _hell_ to pay. The slits were high enough on my thighs that one could see the guns strapped there, but please, did they really expect us to go in there totally unarmed?

The six of us stalked in, heads held high. I was surprised, actually. The leeches here had some control over themselves, considering they didn't throw themselves at us. I understood, right then, why Ino hadn't come on this particular interlude. She was the seductress; her blood would have driven them half-crazy with desire, and that's just not nice, according to Tsunade.

And both Temari and Karin were still too injured to do anything, because they might end up being more of a hindrance then a help.

A leech with wine-red eyes and short green hair eyed me boredly, and he ushered us past the blood bar's outer line, and into the heart of the snake pit. Silver's words rang in my mind. 'Be wary of snakes, little one, because pink-haired rulers and snakes don't get along…'

I shuddered at the analogy, and gripped Sasuke's fingers tighter. He didn't do much, but he slipped his arm around my waist, and pulled me closer. I wanted to curl into him for comfort, but I didn't. I needed to concentrate right now.

The leech leading us about led us to another door, thick, oak, old. The handle was silver, and I mentally sighed. It was too bad Temari wasn't here… she could put the magic-stuff into it, and then the leeches would never get out, and we could do whatever we wanted! But, sadly, it was not to be, and the leech pushed the door open, and we slipped into a dark room.

It wasn't so dark that we couldn't see, but I was still on guard until a light flickered on.

Scratch that, my guard was going to be up all night, whether I liked it or not. I do not get along with leeches, and they do not get along with me.

I raised my eyes to the five high podiums in the room, four of them occupied. I could see Silver. He was alone; big surprise. The only other of his line had been Argent, and I smiled savagely as I thought of her.

In the other three occupied throne-like things were two other males, and one female.

I recognized Kendra's slow, sugar-sweet smile, big red ringlets and cold eyes in the chair to the far-right, and I wanted to shudder. She looked at me for a moment, and her smile disappeared, as if she was trying to figure something about me out.

She leaned down to one of the girls sitting at her feet (there were three of them), and whispered something in the one with black and purple hair's ear. The girl, who looked about thirteen, nodded once, twice, and then she smiled hugely.

I recognized that smile. But from where? It was like…. Hmmm…

And then she came bounding over to us, her smile as wide as the whole sky. She stopped right in front of me. "Sakura Hatake?"

I nodded once, my jaw clenched slightly. I did _not_ like being this close to a leech. No. It should not happen. _Never_. Agh.

"Kendra wants to talk to you. Oh, and I'm Kethryn!" She smiled hugely again as she ended this statement, and reached out to grab my hand.

I let her, out of the pure shock that she would even _think_ about touching a hunter. She seemed so… naïve. Actually, she seemed like she was a child stuck in an un-aging body.

Sasuke, behind me, growled. Kethryn turned and glared at him, glared at him as only a thirteen-year-old could. "Not you. Only Sakura. Kendra doesn't want to talk to _you_."

And then Kaeleo took over. "Oh, I think my dear little Juliet would _love_ to talk to me… After all, I haven't seen her in over a century. It'll be a wonderful little reunion of old friends, won't it?"

Kethryn blinked. "Kaeleo…?"

"Hello, little one, I'm not sure I know your name."

Her eyes widened, and she whipped around, and stared at me, her eyes wide and innocent. "Is he lying?" she asked me, her innocence really weirding me out. Not normal, a leech-child. And _innocent_ leech-child. I almost snorted. The thought was so unlikely.

"No, he's not lying…"

"Fine, both of you, come! And then she grabbed both my and Sasuke wrist, and pulled us towards Kendra's chair.

While this had been happening, the rest of our group had watched in something like amazement and annoyance. Naruto was barely letting Hinata breathe; he was keeping her so close. And Neji and Tenten… well, I'm not even going to go there.

And the leeches milling around (I did a quick head count; there were thirteen of them in total) were staring at all of the humans in the room with bright interest. Not hunger, which was strange, but prospective _interest_. It was like they had been waiting a long ime for this to happen.

Kethryn pulled Sasuke and me towards Kendra's throne-thing, surprising strength in her tiny body. Seriously, she looks like a thirteen-year-old, one who's just started growing, because she's not quite out of childhood, but not fully into adulthood… It was kind of strange, actually.

She pulled us right up to the throne-thing, and Kendra looked down at the two of us. Her eyes flicked from wondering about me, to being annoyed by Sasuke's mere presence. But Sasuke's eyes changed again, and Kaeleo was there. "Hello, Kendra."

She blinked at him. "Do I _know_ you?" Her voice was a soft, musical lilt that spoke of sadness and fairy hills and a lament playing through empty woods in… hmmm, Ireland, from her very slight accent.

"You just might, Juliet."

I heard her breath catch in her throat, as mine so often did. "Kaeleo?!"

He gave her a different smile then the one Sasuke gave me, but it had the same meaning. It had the same 'damnit, I've missed you so much' quality to it, and I gulped.

Jesus Christ, had Kaeleo been in love with Kendra?!

She looked at him, said "I'll talk to you _later_, asshole," and she turned to me, her face softening. "Sakura. Do you know why you're here?"

I shook my head, my mind still reeling from too much new information.

She sighed, and said "Well, you ought to. I take it you've been informed of the recent change in my people's countenance."

I snorted. "Informed? More like nearly killed by."

She shook her head slowly. "I do apologize for that. But you are unharmed?"

I nodded, slightly mechanically, considering how stiff my body was. "They didn't hurt me, but they damn well hurt a couple of my friends."

She shook her head with an annoyed sigh. "So then you know of the change in their speed and strength, but also their mental capacity?"

I nodded, and she smiled slightly.

"Good. Then I suppose you ought to know that it's because of a _very_ annoying vampire who goes by the name of Kabuto. He's been experimenting on my people in recent years, ever since his master was killed. I suppose those experiments were in revenge, because his master was killed by someone you well know."

"Who?"

"Your adoptive mother, Anko Hatake."

I kind of went into a catatonic state for a minute. Hearing Anko's name out of a leech's mouth was just disconcerting, especially when it was spoken with no distinguishable hatred. But, also, she knew Anko. I could tell, because she had that smirk on.

That smirk came from knowing what Anko was like. "So, what do you want me to do about it? I don't even know where Anko _is_ right now, as I'm sure you know."

She smiled again, her fangs curving over her bottom lip a little bit. "You may not know where she is, but _I_ do."

My eyes narrowed. "Are you going to tell me?"

"There's a catch."

Of course there's a catch, there's _always_ a catch! I glared at her, eyes narrowed, and I waited for her to continue.

"You have to kill Kabuto for us."

---

**Review guys, it makes me love you more!**


	17. Chapter 17

I am feeling like crap. I am going to crawl into a corner and die. Review, and make me smile, yes? And yes, I know it's shorter then usual.

**Disclaimer**_**: Still**_ not mine. STOP HARRASING ME!!!

**Dedication:** To POMEGRANATE SHERBET.

---

I stared at Kendra, a smirk on my lips. "So you want us to eradicate another leech?"

She half-smiled at me, and her green _green-green-green-as-the-pastures-green_ eyes glittered strangely. Coldly, almost. "Yes, I want you to eradicate him, as you so delicately put it. He's making a mockery of us, trying to play God in a world he doesn't understand."

I crossed my arms over my chest. I didn't like this deal, because so far, I didn't see how we'd find the adults. "What about my parents and the others? When do we find out where they are?"

Her half-smile stayed on her lips, but the warmth in that sugar-sweet _charming-charming-so-very-fake-fake-fake_ smile never reached her eyes. I almost shuddered. "You'll find them when you destroy Kabuto. We don't want to keep you hunters too close; you're too annoying for our liking."

I suddenly liked the fact that 'annoying' could be considered a synonym for 'dangerous'.

She stopped speaking, and she looked slightly irked. "That… thing… is mutating our people. We hate you hunters, but we hate those that dare tamper with our natures more." Her nose wrinkled delicately in distaste, and I could _feel_ her dislike of the man rolling off her in waves.

I let a slow, savage smile twist my lips. My voice wasn't loud when I spoke, but it seemed to almost echo, the syrupy quality to it making me mentally wince. "So, is that it, or can we go and do some exorcisms now?"

"Why don't you stay awhile, and get acquainted with the other nobles? I'm sure they'd all _love_ to meet you." She looked at me for another moment, and then very deliberately turned and stared at Silver's direction.

I wanted to refuse, grab the others, and get the hell out of there, but Tsunade's orders had been "Play nice, and don't make them mad. Oh, and Sakura… be polite," and as much as the orders got on my nerves, I did disobey direct orders. Ever. I sent a glare at Silver, and he waved merrily.

Strangely enough, both she and I twitched _twitchy-twitchy-like-a-sort-of-ferret_ in annoyance. And then we sent each other a confused look, and I asked her "Does he piss you off as much as he pisses me off?"

She rolled her eyes. "Likely more, little one. I've dealt with him for over a century and a half. You've only had to deal with him for a few years, but, then again, he's probably more irksome to you. You have yet to kill him. _I_ can put him in his place."

I wanted to grin at her, the same way I would have grinned at Hinata or Tenten. But then the still-angry six-year-old was screaming at the bored five-year-old, and I carefully reminded myself that it was probably _not_ the best idea to think of her as a possible friend.

Because, honestly, friendship with a leading leech noble is _really_ not on my 'list of things to do in my entire life'. Actually, just friendship with a leech in general (noble or not) isn't on that list. Anywhere. Ever. No.

I nodded, and very slightly bowed my head in recognition. I rolled my eyes when my head was down, because if I were anyone else, I would _never_ bow my head to a leech, but Tsunade had ordered me to play nice.

And I don't rebel against orders.

And then Sasuke and I retreated back towards where the only other humans in the room were (our pretty damn freaked out friends). Poor Hinata. She was shaking, obviously not used to being surrounded by such a strong leech aura, and being able to do nothing about the crushing weight was probably killing her. I know it was killing _me_, but Hinata wasn't as used to the oppressive weight as I was.

I don't blame her for it, either; I've been working this job a hell of a lot longer then she has, and she's not used to being so covered by the threat of death, yet.

Tenten, on the other hand, seemed utterly at ease, even smirking viciously around at the leeches in the room, the flickering, golden light of the millions of candles in the room glinting off the auburn in her hair and the golden stitching on her dress. Neji was standing next to her, his arm wrapped protectively around her waist, and for a strange moment, the room seemed to spin, and I felt a little bit dizzy.

"Where the hell… am I?" I mumbled to myself, and I almost feel forward and hit the floor. But Sasuke was there next to me, his fingers woven carefully through mine, and he didn't let me fall.

"We're going home."

I shook my head, my jaw clenched. The sudden dizziness was passing, and I was _not_ about to let some bit of weakness stop me from carrying out the things I had been told to do. "I'm fine."

I could hear him grinding his teeth, and I let a small _giddy-dizzy-spin-spin-spin-around-and-around-and-around_ smile cover my lips, and I straightened up, beaming.

"Just a little dehydrated. Yo, Silver, got any water around here?" I called out to the annoyingly cool leech across the room. He smiled at me, and a tendril of hatred ran up my spine. I could _shoot him through the head_ from here, like fuck!

He continued to smile, and held up a wineglass that was, at a guess, crystal, and full of thick red liquid. My stomach rolled, but I didn't let it show on my face. I kept my smile full of sugary-sweet and my eyes full of bitch-from-hell ice.

"Sorry little one, this is all that Red carries, and while _you_ might not like it very much, I rather prefer it to water."

I twitched, annoyed at the nickname, and I was somehow _not_ surprised when I could see, out of the corner of my eye, Kendra looking like she was about to fly across the room and _slap_ Silver across the face, and not lightly, either. Her perfect smile -_perfect-perfect-with-fangs-curving-gently-over-the-lip_ was twisted into a feral snarl.

Apparently, half the females in this room hated him, and, also apparently, he had given nicknames to the two most dangerous females in this room, as well. He obviously didn't know when to stop.

I had a sudden urge to stab the heel of my shoe into his leg. And then I remembered that I wasn't wearing heels, because running in heels is a bitch from hell. Damn it.

But, even so, I ignored Silver (stupid, annoying bastard that he is…), and let my eyes wander over the faces in the room.

There were more then quite a few, but, at the same time, they looked more -hmm, human is the best way I can put it, - then other leeches.

The other two throne like things were occupied, both by males that couldn't be much older then me (or, at least, they didn't _look_ much older… leeches don't age, you see). In one was a guy (or was he a girl? He was so _pretty_…) of about twenty, with messy light brown hair, and really laid-back clothes, even though the shirt he was wearing underneath the plaid over shirt was bright… yellow. Okay, abnormal.

In the second throne was a Kakashi-clone-with-longer-hair. I blinked, to make sure my vision was right. "Who the _hell_ is _that_?!"

And then Kethryn was beside me, a happy smile on her face. "Oh, that's Jagh. Ignore him, he's _mean_. And the other one, he's Luke. They're like… brothers, sort of, although Jagh's a born noble, and Luke's… not."

I blinked down at her round, thirteen-year-ish-old face. As much as Kethryn was a vampire, she seemed really… sweet. "A born noble?"

"Yeah, a born noble, they're a bit more-"

And then she was being dragged away by a girl with white-blonde hair and neon pink streaks in dread locks, and really dark eyes. "Kethy, stay _away_ from the humans, we _don't_ want you getting hungry and accidentally _snacking_ on one of them-"

"Aww, Storm-y! They're so _nice_, though! And I ate earlier; I'm not hungry at _all_!"

The ice-white-blonde-pink dreads girl rolled her eyes. "You still don't really even know when you're hungry; go talk to Kendra, she'll find something for you to eat."

She turned to us, and blinked. "Uh… hello? Sorry, Kethryn's kind of… childish still. She still thinks like one of you. Uh, I'm Storm, by the way, and I guess I'll be your guide while Kethy's away, getting something to eat."

The six of us humans, all of us feeling awkward and unsure (because we _really_ did not belong here) of ourselves for a few seconds, shrugged, and felt… weird. These leeches… they seemed too human, too real, too… I dunno, too unnatural? _Like-friends-friends-friends-the-friends-you-never-had…_

I probably wouldn't be able to kill a single one of them if I ended up knowing them. And I could never hurt Kethryn. She was just too cute. And Storm seemed like a cautious, older sister to the younger, black-haired little child.

Storm scratched her head. "Uh, well, you obviously know Kendra… But right now, Brittle's with her there, and so is Kethy." She pointed to where Kendra and Kethryn were (Kendra lecturing Kethryn about… something?), along with another girl, one with fire-engine red hair, tied in two black bows, dressed in jeans and a comfortable-looking black v-neck sweater, one who looked very bored, and who was munching on chocolate. What leech eats _chocolate_?!

"Brittle's like… Kendra's older sister, or something, because she's older by a bit, but Kendra's still the one who heads the line… You know our system, right?"

We (I'm saying we, because everyone's names together takes too long… argh) blinked at her, and the resounding "No," made her flinch.

"Oh… well, there are five lines. Kendra heads one, Silver heads one, Luke heads one, and so does Jagh."

"What about the empty seat?" I asked, but I kind of think I already knew the answer.

"Oh." Her brow furrowed in something like sorrow. "Kendra's best friend is supposed to be sitting there, but they think that Kaeleo's dead. Kendra doesn't think so, but everyone else does… But not even the council can pick a new heir, because the only heir won't take it, and _because_ he won't, we're one leader short."

Her voice dropped to a whisper, and I could feel Sasuke tense beside me. Both he and Kaeleo wanted out of whatever deal they had, and I honestly would prefer if he were _out_ of Sasuke's head, and maybe Storm knew something about it.

She continued. "I think Kendra loved him, Kaeleo I mean, or something, because she still looks really sad about something, sometimes… But I dunno."

Shock of a sort danced through my mind, and I blinked, and carefully shot a glance at Sasuke.

But then again, it wasn't Sasuke I was looking at, it was Kaeleo, and I knew. I _knew_ what Kendra really wanted. She wanted Kaeleo back, and if she had to destroy Sasuke to do it, she would.

---

Storm stared at us, wondering why we were so quiet. "Uh… I'm sorry, I don't know your names. Kendra told me them, but my memory is… really bad, put nicely."

So I introduced our group, Hinata and Tenten and Neji and Sasuke and Naruto and myself, and then Storm introduced us to the rest of her family. There were three more female nobles, and four more males.

There was Malandra, with her shoulder-length black hair, in crazy curly corkscrews and dark red-purple eyes and white skin and a strange, dangerous look glimmering in her eyes. She was tall and willowy, and I hated her instantly because she had probably been a model.

There was Hannah, with longish-blonde hair and bright, curious blood red eyes. She was as short as I was, and she was wearing the most awesome neon green shirt ever. I wanted it. Badly.

Storm blinked at Hannah. "She's… violent."

"What?"

Storm shrugged at Hinata's question. "She's violent, but she hates how messy killing the human population in general is. I dunno, she's weird. And she's the only one who can tell Jagh what to do without getting ripped to shreds."

I gave her an odd look, and went silent as she went back to the introductions. There was a chick called Rilo was standing in the corner, with vibrant blue hair that fell into her face and pale red-ish eyes, and she was smirking around at everyone, but her eyes were cold and angry. And she was glaring at us like there was no tomorrow.

Storm shook her head, and murmured softly "Rilo hates hunters, more then anyone else here. They killed her parents."

I was a bit taken aback. Well, wasn't _that_ a bit ironic? But I understood. No matter who you were, you'd hate _anything_ that took your family from you.

Kethryn (who had really seemed to take to us) bounded up. "You can go now, Stormy, Kenny wants you!"

Storm rolled her eyes, and went to find out what it was that Kendra wanted.

Kethryn grinned up at us. "'Kay, so you've met all the girls? Then… okay pokie, I guess I'll take you to meet the boys!" She grabbed my wrist, and tugged me happily towards one of the males, the one that looked like Kakashi.

Sasuke grabbed me around the waist and growled at her. Kethryn glared up at him, a pout on her lips. "Kenny wants Pinky to meet the boys! And _you_ are not going to stop me."

She tugged on my wrist harder, and Sasuke refused to let me go. "Uh, guys… could we _not_ pull my arm out its socket? That'll hurt."

Kethryn let go, and she probably would have blushed if she could have. "Sorry…"

"It's okay, just uh… show me from here?"

She nodded, and glared at Sasuke as only a thirteen-year-old can glare. "Fine then."

She pointed out a guy named Ryder, who was, apparently, the oldest noble. Messy black-brown hair covered his head, and he was currently laughing with a couple of other males. He looked like he was about twenty, and he seemed fairly tense. I could see, just from the way he was standing, that his guard was constantly up.

The other two males were Travis and Jesse, and I couldn't really tell them apart, except that Travis was really pale, had snakebites on his bottom lip and brownish-red, and Jesse was the colour of dark chocolate, both his hair and his eyes, and his skin was a mocha-colour that looked like it had once been very tan, but had been recently leached of all blood.

And off in a corner, there was another male, one who looked about fourteen, with corn-silk hair, and an aloof attitude. And not only that, he kind of looked… princely… almost. I mean, seriously, the dude's bone structure would have made any artist drool. And he kind of looked like he ought to be wearing a crown. Kethryn glared at him.

"That's Jason," she said through clenched teeth "And I don't like him very much. At all. We don't really get along. Ever."

I blinked down at her, while she continued to glare in his direction, and he _continued_ to look disinterested. Oh, dear. They seemed to have a relationship like the one that Sasuke and I started out with.

And then Storm was next to us, rolling her eyes and pulling a screaming Kethryn away, towards where Kendra was shaking her head sadly at them.

I turned and looked at the others. Hinata was still shaking from the thick miasma that surrounded this place, and Naruto was beginning to look like he was going to murder something to make her feel better. Tenten was still smiling coolly around at everyone and everything, and Neji seemed out of it, _again_.

If the dude was high, I _swear_ he was not going to live…

And then I looked at Sasuke, and I knew we had to get out of there, and _fast_, because he was clenching both his fists and his jaw. I _knew_ how hard Kaeleo was fighting to get out of Sasuke's head, and I hadn't even taken into account how it would make Sasuke feel.

I almost groaned as Tsunade's words rang _ring-ring-ring-like-bells-on-a-calm-clear-day_ in my head, and I shoved them away.

One insubordination of orders couldn't hurt, right?

It went against every grain in my body, to be so disloyal, but I gently slipped my fingers through Sasuke's, and murmured, a perfectly insane smile "Let's get out of here. No use in you trying to kill yourself to keep the bastard cooped up."

He smirked down at me, ragged and tired, and muttered to Naruto and Neji "Get the girls out of here."

I nodded, and murmured, the perfectly insane smile still on my lips "We've got some cleaning up to do. But don't drive off without us, alright? When we go kill Kabuto, we'll do it together."

Naruto nodded, grabbed Hinata around the waist, and pulled her out of there. She flushed, and almost fainted. Aww, cute. And Neji just blinked at us for a split second, and then let Tenten drag him away.

I turned around and faced Kendra. "We're going to take our leave… we'll get rid of Kabuto, but I swear, Kendra, if my parents aren't there, there _will_ be blood. And it won't be ours."

She nodded, a cold, cruel smile playing across her lips. "There's one other thing I need you to get, while you're there. It's a little crystal phial that that… thing… keeps around his neck. We need it. And if you get it for us, we'll leave you hunters alone for a good long time, understand?"

I nodded, and smiled again, one as cold and cruel and insane as she had ever given me.

"Oh, and Kaeleo, sweetheart?" Kendra called, but neither Sasuke nor I turned around to face her.

"You _owe_ me."

I didn't try to pretend I knew what that meant, and so I just nodded again, this time to no one in particular, and let my perfectly insane smile carry Sasuke, Kaeleo, and myself, out of the room.

---

I sprawled out on the bed in my room, already out of that hellish dress. Yes, it was pretty, but it was _seriously_ uncomfortable.

I really hate dresses.

I crawled under the covers, my mind exhausted. So much had gone on in a small amount of time… I just needed to let my brain calm down, and figure out what the hell it all meant.

Ten minutes later, I hadn't made any progress (except in depressing myself; I had thought of all the bad things that leeches had done to people I know and/or knew), and Sasuke had just gotten out of the shower.

That kid takes the longest showers of any person I've ever met. It's really weird, to be honest, because I thought _I_ took the longest showers. But, apparently, I don't.

He looked over at me, and I looked at him, and I noted that he was finally wearing his own pajama bottoms. Seriously, seeing him in Kakashi's pajama pants was _not_ an experience I would like to repeat.

I curled up in bed, and he came and wrapped his arms around me.

"Well, tonight was slightly counter-productive…" I muttered ungratefully. I would have gone after Kabuto, anyways. Anko had told me stories about how he had been one of the leeches who had held her hostage when she'd been eight, along with some weird creeper-leech that she'd ended up killing (apparently, his name was Orochimaru…), and you know what? I hate leeches who hold humans hostage. They are the scum of the earth.

He shrugged, or at least he tried. It's kind of hard to shrug when you're cuddled up next to someone. "Could have been worse."

"_How_?!" I asked, scandalized.

"They could have attacked us. They didn't."

"True. But… still! And what was Kendra talking about, some phial around Kabuto's neck?"

He tried his shrugging thing again, and growled out "Kaeleo won't tell me. But he seems smug about something. I just dunno what he's smug about."

I rolled my eyes. "Jesus, and _this_ is why I don't put up with leeches! They all speak in code!" As an afterthought, I added "_And_ they're evil."

"Kethryn seemed okay."

"She was still a kid. But they all need blood Sasuke, okay or not. And I… after what happened, I… I can't consider it a good thing. And then I think of Emma and her brother, and Anko and my parents and Tsunade and everyone who's ever been hurt by a leech…"

He pulled me a little bit closer. "I know princess, I know."

I hid my face in his chest, and let the tears hiding in my eyes loose. I didn't even make a sound, I just soaked the side of his shoulder.

And he knew me well enough not to say anything, and to just let me cry.

I don't cry. Not ever.

Not when anyone who can hurt me is around, anyways.


	18. Chapter 18

KYOHEI FINALLY ADMITTED HE LOVES SUNAKO!!! BAHAHAHAHA. And I got _three_ new CDs last night. Seriously… Escape the Fate is just so damn amazing… Their new sound… _drool_…

And if Hinata's dead, Kishimoto is going to find a _very_ angry seventeen-year-old on his door-step in the next few weeks…

**Disclaimer**: Still not mine. Sigh.

**Dedication**: To Breaking Benjamin and Escape the Fate.

---

When I woke up the next morning, I groaned as sunlight hit my eyes, and I instinctively curled into the warmth on my left. Said warmth growled when I moved, thinking I was getting up, and it pulled me closer. I let out a sigh as Sasuke tucked my head underneath his chin, and locked his arms around me.

"You gonna let me go anytime soon?"

"No."

I rolled my eyes, but I didn't move. It was too early to start an argument over something so stupid. I yawned, and carefully started going over the events of last night in my mind, yet again.

"When are we going to go after Kabuto?" I mumbled into his neck, my nose full of musky boy scent. My lips curved up into a smile, and I let out a soft puff of breath. He shivered.

"Don't _do_ that," he muttered, and I had to suppress the urge to giggle maniacally. I did it again, just to piss him off, and he groaned in something like lust. Satisfaction swamped me.

"Don't do what? _This_?" I asked him, and then I breathed on his neck for a third time, and this time, he hissed, and pulled away from me.

"Yes, _that_."

"Oh," I pouted at him, and fluttered my lashes, and tried to be Ino. I failed. "But what if I _want_ to?"

He looked at me for a second. "You might not like the results, if you keep it up, you know."

My lips spread in a slow, dangerous smile, and I whispered in his ear "Really? Would I _really_ not like it?"

"Really, really," he murmured back to me, his lips brushing lightly against my cheek, and gently tracing their way down my throat, his breath hot on my skin. I always stop thinking when he does this… Seriously, my brain just kind of fizzles out and _dies_…

A tendril of lighting ghosted its way up my spine, and I shuddered delicately. His lips hovered just a centimeter above my own, and I suddenly understood why he had _not_ liked me breathing on his neck. It was just so damn _tempting_.

"Are you going to kiss me now, or not?" I demanded, my voice soft and ragged. I hate him so much.

"Very definitely."

And then his lips were on mine, and it was _so hot_, and I twisted my fingers through his inky hair, and he's all mine _mine-mine-mine-no-one-else-can_-touch_-him-because-he's-_mine… A flood of possession swirled through my body, and I tugged him closer.

Neither of us are truly gentle in nature (he is, more then I am, but still…), and when I pulled away to breathe, I knew my collar was, at the very least, bruised, and Tsunade would probably ask me awkward questions if she was them…

Not that I was the only one with injuries; I give as good as I get, and I fight dirtier then Sasuke does. He had nail marks gouging deep into his chest and his shoulder, and even deeper into his back, and I smiled in smug satisfaction. He was _mine_, and those damn nail marks proved it.

We kind of looked at each other for a second, both our breathing heavy and labored as we fought for air, and we gave ourselves a chance to survey the damage we'd done to each other. My pajama top was in shreds (bastard! I had liked that one, too!), and my shorts had mysteriously disappeared…

He smirked down at me "Damn, I knew you scratched… But I didn't think you would _bite_ me."

He was right, too; there were bite marks all across his neck. Fuck, what am I, a leech?! I flushed, the blood from the rest of my body rushing up to my head. Or, at least it tried. "Shut up. I'm going to have hickeys for _weeks_! Tsunade and _Kakashi_ will think you're _abusing_ me!"

He chuckled, and pulled me closer, and wrapped the bed covers around us. It was like he was trying to hide us from the world. Maybe he was. I wouldn't have cared either way.

I wanted to hide.

I didn't want to be seen by anyone, didn't want to have to _feel_ anymore. I wanted Anko and Kurenai and Shizune, and Kakashi and Asuma and Genma, and I just wanted someone to _be_ there for me.

And I had Sasuke. I struggled to sit up, and I looked down at him. I let my eyes trace his features, from the small, musing smile on his lips, to the casual, warm cast to his eyes, I had him, and it would be fine, because we would be together.

"Princess?"

"Hmm?"

"You gonna get up?" he asked, his voice strangely gentle, and soft, and almost broken.

God, it's no wonder he's worried, I'm fucking bipolar when he's around. I ran my fingers slowly through his bangs, and I bit my lip. I didn't even deserve him. I'm such a horrible person…

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm comfy." And then I lay back down, and I curled my body into his. I'm glad that I mean something to him. I'm glad I mean something to _somebody_ at all.

I closed my eyes, and I slept again.

---

When I woke up again, I couldn't feel Sasuke next to me. Panic seized me for some unknown reason, and I stood up blindly.

Or, at least, I tried. I was kind of wrapped in sheets, and so I hit the floor with a resounding 'thump'.

And then Sasuke came rushing back into my view, and I let out a sigh of relief. I dislike not knowing where he is; it's kind of scary, being totally alone.

I've really become used to sleeping next to him.

That thought on its own was like a smack in the face. I had never really been dependent on someone ever before, not emotionally, anyways, and now that I am, it's kind of… scary.

I wrapped my arms around myself (or at least I tried… still wrapped in sheets, damn it), and I started swearing like a drunken sailor.

Sasuke shook his head at me in disbelief, and came and picked me up, and held me in the air, bridal-style (dear god, kill me now) for a second.

And then he dumped me on the bed, and I started swearing loudly again.

"Get dressed, Sakura. We're going hunting."

I stilled as his words swept over. A smirk tore itself over my lips, dangerous and deadly, and I untangled myself slowly, and just as slowly, I stood up and looked at him. The rush of pre-hunt adrenaline had me on edge, and I suddenly remembered why I had started hunting in the first place.

That rush of pre-hunt adrenaline was _nothing_ compared to what it felt like to run through the streets at night, a leech's scent in your nose, feeling the wind screaming through your hair, and laughing _laugh-laugh-laughing_ as you chase your soon-to-be-prey hunter down alleyways and past bars and over rooftops… No, it just couldn't compare.

Because that's the game we play; the hunters become the prey, and the hunted become the predators. It's dangerous, but it's worth it.

And I'm not even lying.

"Well then," I murmured to no one in particular "I suppose I'd best get dressed…"

Sasuke noted the change in my voice, and he looked at me, concerned. "Sakura, are you… alright?"

I smiled up at him, my eyes half-lidded as my dangerous little five-year-old took control. "I'm fine… Actually, you know what? I'm better then fine."

And then I whipped around, and went to find something to wear. Sasuke snorted behind me; he was amused by my sudden monotony. He better get used to me being like this… I'm always like this before I hunt, even if he doesn't see it.

I reached blindly into my bag, and started pulling clothes out of it. They ended up being thrown pell-mell all over the place behind me, and it continued until I found my favorite hunting uniform.

I tugged the skin-tight black zip-up jacket and short-shorts out. I tossed them over my arm, and ran into the bathroom and got changed as fast as I could. Well, after a shower and towel-drying my hair pretty much thoroughly… So I was clean, thank god.

The outfit honestly didn't afford much warmth, but that didn't matter. When you were broiling hot because you were running so fast, it kind of helped.

And it also let me strap on so many weapons that it was worth the cold.

I got out, and blinked at Sasuke. "What?"

He still looked amused. "Nothing."

I shook my head to myself, and went to find my boots (Anko calls them my hooker boots. They're not). They were sitting in the cubboard, and I slid them on, and zipped them up. They were knee-high and black and sexy and _warm_, which was another reason I didn't have to wear pants when I wore them.

After this was finished, and I was dressed, I went to find a ponytail to put my hair up. Running around with loose hair is annoying.

I searched our room. I searched the _entire_ room.

And I couldn't find one. I growled, exceedingly annoyed. "Sasuke, I'll be right back, I need to go steal a rubber band from Hinata, because apparently there isn't one in this _room_."

He just chuckled, still amused at something I didn't understand, and I just left the room, rolling my eyes. The dude is _weird_ when he wants to be.

I walked to the next room, and knocked on the door.

A squeak and the sound of something heavy hitting the ground, and a grunt was all I heard, and then the door was opened by a _very_ red Hinata, wearing nothing but a _sheet_.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Apparently, I'm not the _only_ one getting some… Neji's gonna be pissed."

She squeaked at me, her blush thickening, and I just laughed. "Don't worry Hina, I won't tell him. I like Naruto; I don't want him to die. Anyways, do you happen to have a rubber band?"

She nodded, still red as a beet, and was about to open the door to let me in, but I stopped her. "Sweetie, I do _not_ want to see what's in there… could you just go grab it?"

She turned even redder (if that was even possible, considering the circumstances), and quickly closed the door in my face. I didn't blame her; it was kind of weird, anyways. A few seconds later, she appeared, and stuffed a couple of rubber bands into my fist, and then I grinned at her.

"Thanks hun, now, I think you should go finish up whatever it was that you were doing… but if someone else knocks on the door, really, just don't answer it."

She nodded again, still bright red, and she closed the door, and I went stomped back to our room, something having dawned on me.

"You _knew_! You asshole, why didn't you tell me they were screwing in the other room?!"

Sasuke grinned at me, and I wanted to _kick_ him.

"It was only fair that you walk in on them, too. I walked in on them earlier; they didn't even lock the door."

I shook my head in total disbelief. "Dear god, if Neji finds out…"

He finished my sentence for me. "Naruto's going to die. I can't _wait_."

"What kind of best friend are _you_?!"

"A good one!"

"…O-kay then…" was all I said, and then I slipped into the bathroom, to get to a mirror, and to do my hair.

Sasuke was behind me, and he watched me gather my hair at the back of my head in a high, tight, functional ponytail-bun-thing, watched my bangs framed my face. I stared at them in slight hatred. I _really_ don't like my bangs, but they work for me like this.

Eventually, I might cut them… But right then wasn't the time to think about things like that. My eyes caught Sasuke's in the mirror, and we held each other's gaze. There was a tense humming between us.

It wasn't just tension. It was _fear_, masked and twisted, but it was there. I was afraid that this wouldn't work. I was afraid of being alone. I was afraid of _losing him_.

His fingers grazed the curve of my back, and I knew reassurance when I felt it. If one of us was going, so was the other. He wouldn't leave me alone. And I wouldn't be facing the possibility of Anko and Kakashi dead, not alone, anyways.

I carefully passed Sasuke, our fingers linking casually as he flicked the light off. I tugged him back to where I had stashed all of my guns (under the bed. Seriously people, everyone always thinks that under the bed is too obvious, so no one checks it… which is good, considering…), and I pulled out the two normal-looking suitcases, and I opened them.

Laid out before us was a _lovely_ vision of pain-inducing weapons, and I pulled out a Glock, and strapped it to my thigh, and then grabbed its twin, and strapped said twin to my other thigh.

Knives went in my boots, and the needle-point knives meant for slamming into random body parts (usually the neck…) were shoved in my hair. I debated pulling on my knife-nail-leather gloves, but decided against it, and just shoved them into Sasuke's hands, with a mutter of "Hold these."

He just held them, and slightly smirked at me. I rolled my eyes, and I turned my attention back to my guns.

My rifle sat there in four pieces, and I _ached_ to bring it along, but I knew I couldn't risk it. It was too dangerous, too slow. It was good for long-distance sniping, but I somehow seriously doubted that there'd be any sniping on this little outing of ours.

I turned and looked at Sasuke. "So when _are_ we leaving, by the way? You're not getting changed yet…"

"We're not leaving for a few hours."

I glared at him. "And so _that_'s why you were laughing at me. Unfair. So I got all dressed up for nothing? I could have stayed in bed."

"Nah," he mumbled. "You look prettier this way."

I wanted to blush. But I don't really _blush_. It's kind of… yucky. And it's more or less Hinata's area of expertise, not mine. "Thanks," I murmured back, and I smiled up at him.

Although, considering, staying in bed would have been _way_ more comfortable. I could have _slept_ for a few more hours. I love sleep. It's so _relaxing_. But I think I'm almost all slept-out. There is a point where I just can't sleep anymore. And that point always sucks, because there's nothing I can do at that point. Blah.

"So what do we do now?" I whispered.

"We wait." Sasuke replied.

---

And so we waited.

And waited, and waited. I was _so bored_ by the end of it that I nearly screamed. So I have no patience. I know that, okay?! I tugged the blanket I had wrapped around me a little closer, and I let my eyes flash obsessively at the clock.

I hate waiting.

It's called 'the waiting game' for a reason. It's not something you can ever win, because once you get to whatever you were waiting for, you find out something screwed up, and you have to wait some _more_.

It's the most annoying thing in the world.

I turned and looked at Sasuke, sitting coolly across from me, his hair swept back in an almost windblown fashion, and wearing all black, from his shirt, to his sneakers. And he was wearing _aviators_.

I wanted to _throw_ myself at him. Aviators are _sexy_.

The knock on the door shocked me, and I jumped what felt like a foot in the air without trying. But, despite my strange shock, I got up, and pushed the door open.

It was just Hinata and Naruto, both dressed in black for the occasion. Black just always works best during the night, because it hides things in shadows very, _very_ well.

"Where are Tenten and Neji?" I asked, and Hinata shrugged.

"Tenny is probably still trying to wake Neji up. Although, they should be here soon, if I know Tenten at all." She grinned weakly at me, and I grinned weakly back at her. Neither of us liked where this night could be going.

Sasuke and Naruto gave each other the guy nod, and then sat at the table, strangely quiet. Apparently, _none_ of us were really ready for tonight. I tugged Hinata over to the bed, and we flopped down together, and flicked the TV on.

"Crap, crap, more pointless _crap_… Why isn't there anything _good_ on?" I demanded irritably. I needed a good way to vent my frustrations at life in general right now, and screaming at a stupid soap would probably be the best way.

But there were no trashy soaps _on_. Sigh.

I rolled my eyes at the ceiling, and wished that it would disappear. I wanted to see the stars.

But there are no stars for killers, I thought, and then I closed my eyes, and let my body rest, comfortable and safe in the tiny little hotel room with my three best friends.

The next time the door was pounded on, I didn't jump, as I had jumped the first time. The first time, I'd been unprepared for it, the loud knocking, but this time I was ready for it.

And it's Tenten. Seriously, Tenten doesn't do _gentle_. Ever.

Naruto got up, when the pounding continued, and the rest of us made no move to get up, and he unlocked the door, and let an annoyed Tenten, and a still-out-of-it Neji in. She was huffing, and he was just being his cold, emotionless robot self.

"Are we _going_ yet? And, I swear to god, if that creep of a receptionist _smiles_ at me again, I'm going to _kill_ him!" Tenten went off into a rant, and both Hinata and I giggled. Well, Hinata did. I suppressed a painful chuckle.

"Yes Tenten, we're leaving now."

"Where are we going, how are we getting there, and how long is this going to take? I need some sleep in the next twenty-four hours, or _very_ bad things will happen."

I kind of expected that. Tenten looks exhausted. "Don't worry hun, we're going to find an old friend, Sasuke and Naruto are driving, and it shouldn't take too long. And then we're coming back here and passing out."

"And if we find the adults?"

I shrugged. "We're still coming back here and passing out. I refuse to loose sleep because they're being stupid."

Of course, they all knew the happiness in my voice was faked, and that I would be seriously unhappy if we found something I didn't.

Thinking about it made me wonder what would happen if I was actually faced with the possibility of their deaths. It was a scary thought.

Considering, I'd probably go on a killing spree, and forget any truces I'd ever made, good intentions or no. If it came down to the leeches or me, it would be them, any day of the freakin' week.

I refuse to die for people who are _already dead_.

I blinked at the others, and I pulled Hinata off the bed, and I grabbed my black leather jacket. It was like a signal in itself, and I tossed it over my shoulders. I walked out the door behind Tenten and Neji, with Sasuke at my side, and Naruto and Hinata behind us, holding hands.

It was time for some _interrogation_, and if I had to break some bones to make it happen, I would.


	19. Chapter 19

We have yet to find out if Hina-chan's dead or not… I'm still twitching, just at the _thought_ of NaruSaku… I am going to rip Kishi's throat out if it happens. _ESPECIALLY_ after why he said he created Hina-chan in the first place! RAWR.

**Disclaimer**: My story line. Not my characters.

**Dedication**: To good, heavy metal (Rammstein), and to alternative punk (Hot Hot Heat). …Wtf, that's a weird mix…

---

I stared out of the stuffy car's window in the night. It was lightless, starless, moonless, and I smiled in grim satisfaction.

Tonight was no night to be out, not even if you were a star.

There was a pounding in my entire body, tension that was wound and coiled like a snake about to strike. I didn't like it. I only got this feeling when something was going to go wrong. Someone, someone was going to die tonight.

I just hoped it wasn't someone I cared about, as heartless as that sounds. I _refuse_ to think that someone else I love is going to die. Someone is going to die tonight.

And I'd much prefer it to be someone I don't know.

But, if someone I _do_ know has to die tonight, it had damn well better be me _dying-isn't-something-we-can-share-share-share_.

I needed something to pound through me, the same way the tension was pounding through me. I needed music, something, anything, just to get rid of this bloody _tension_.

"Sasuke, turn up the volume, right now, please." I whispered into the still, cool inside of the car.

His fingers flicked to the volume control, and turned it up loud. Heavy metal in a different, harsh language ripped through the speakers, and the eerie notes dripped along my spin. I shivered and started slightly swaying to it.

Tenten, behind me, was whispering along to the lyrics. She'd obviously heard it before, and loved it as much as I was quickly beginning to.

The edgy riffs of the guitar, quick-slow-quick-slow, made me shiver. It was the perfect music for tonight. I shuddered again, and Sasuke's cold fingers closed around mine, and they locked there.

The tension in my body increased, the coils of the snake in my stomach gripping my innards tighter. What had Silver said? Be wary of snakes? Why snakes?

"Princess?" Sasuke murmured softly to me, and even over the pounding music, I heard him.

"Just drive, Sasuke. Just drive," I whispered back, and he jerked his head in affirmation.

And so we drove, the night speeding past us, and I went back to staring out at the street lights that whizzed past my face. The light flashed over my face _over-and-over-and-over-and-over_ and I licked my dry, almost cracked, lips.

Here we go again.

We drove and drove, for what felt like days, but had really only been half an hour. It was almost panic-inducing, watching the city slide past us at such a rate.

But soon, we were slowing.

And we got out at a hotel. At least, that's where Shikamaru's directions led us, and we stepped out into the night with his scribbled "Good luck," to cheer us on.

Not very much, if you actually think about it, but it was the best we had.

None of us were touching each other. We had to portray that we knew nothing, cared nothing, for each other. If we didn't, it might give the leech, Kabuto (hmm, I need to pick a nickname for him…), a slight upper hand.

And in this world, a slight upper hand gives you the advantage, and right now, I was in no mood to have the advantage turned against me. All I wanted was my parents. That's it. That's all I wanted.

I dropped my voice to Kakashi's cold monotone. "Come on. Let's go. We don't have time to waste."

And then I walked into the building, the others following me. I had no wish for this to be slow and torturous. I wanted it over. I wanted it over, _now_.

I pushed the revolving door open, distaste staining the inside of my mouth when I saw the luxurious inside of the place. It was all white-threaded-black marble and black-threaded-white granite and onyx and ebony and ivory.

It made me sick.

I walked straight up to the receptionist, a dark-haired woman with almost-black eyes. But they weren't black. They were just a deep, deep red, the colour of ancient wine, and when she saw me, she smiled slowly, her eyes hooded, and her fangs curving lowly over her lower lip.

"You must be the ones the Mistress sent, to take care of Father, correct?"

I smiled darkly at her. "Yes, I think we just might be."

"Highest floor, room twelve-eleven. If you need anything else, you can ask me. I'm Charlotte."

I sent her a sharp nod, and then I walked with the others to the elevator, and we slipped in. It was twelve floors to the top, and we waited as it rose, silently _silently-silently-so-not-to-wake-those-that-ought-not-be-woken_.

Room twelve-eighteen, twelve-thirteen, twelve-twelve, they past by in a blur as the six of us raced down the hall. And there we were, in front of a white door, with eleven-eleven printed on it, neatly, in pretty cursive script.

I was reminded of Hinata's writing from the first day we met, only a few weeks ago, and I thought that I had come a long way in those two weeks.

I cast a look at the others. Hinata's jaw was set, and her fingers were lightly touching Naruto's palm. I couldn't see Naruto's eyes, but I knew that he, too, was ready to fight for the death of this… thing. Tenten had that calm, cold look that one acquires right before one is about to do something unpleasant. Neji, on the other hand, seemed quite comfortable.

I saved looking at Sasuke for last. I always do.

His gaze was slow and steady, and it held my own forever.

I raised my right fist, and I pounded on the door.

---

It was opened, almost instantly (right before my second knock) by a tall-ish young man. He had white hair, tied up in a low ponytail, black eyes tinged with a deep red, and he was wearing glasses. There was a sardonic smirk on his lips.

I hated him instantly.

It was like my entire being was repulsed by being in his mere presence. My stomach tried to heave on me, but I controlled it. His aura was unnaturally dark, and _saturated_ with evil. I'd never felt anything like it.

He wasn't just a leech. He was something else, something else entirely.

And I suddenly knew who was going to die tonight. It was going to be me. The way he was looking at me, like I was a piece of meat, told me everything I needed to know. He'd been waiting for this.

And so had I.

But I smiled at him, just as I knew Hinata and Tenten were, slow and sugar-sweet and thick and dark, like molasses trickling down a freezing glass.

"Hello there, we've come to collect what you ended up taking from us."

He smiled back, and I almost shivered as I saw the inch-long fangs in his mouth. 'Snake', I thought, and I suddenly knew what Silver had meant. He had wanted me to watch out for this man.

Gay best friend, indeed.

"Ah," he murmured, his voice like velvet "So you've come. I wasn't expecting Kendra to send anyone so soon… but it'll have to do. Won't you children come in?"

Sasuke, beside me, stiffened as Kabuto spoke to us as though we were three years old, but he didn't move until Kabuto had turned his back, and showed us in. When the white-haired leech wasn't looking, I shoved my elbow into Sasuke ribs as hard as I could.

I knew it was going to hurt him, but it was necessary. I didn't want him fucking this up.

And I'd already seen the phial that Kendra had been talking about. It hung around Kabuto's neck, a tiny little thing, no bigger in length then the longest links of my pinkie finger put together, and very, very slender.

Whatever was in it, it couldn't have been more then a half a mouthful, so whatever it was, it was valuable. It was probably also a _very_ deadly poison.

Like snake venom.

I shuddered again, when Kabuto's fingers brushed against my arm. Accidentally or not, I whipped my arm back as close to my body as I could get it, and Sasuke growled softly in his throat.

Kabuto smirked, and I realized he was _purposefully_ pushing Sasuke's buttons.

What the hell…?

"Come," he said, "Sit for a while. I'm sure you're all very tired and very thirsty." He motioned to large, round table sitting in the center of the lavishly-furnished kitchen, and then he turned his back on us, and went and sat down.

Either he was very stupid, or very arrogant, or both, to be turning his back on us. I think it was mixture of both, but I didn't reach for my knives, or my guns, and I knew the others were as frozen as I was. There was something very unnerving about the slimy bastard… Something in the way he moved, the way he spoke. And we all felt it, enough that we knew that angering him at this point was probably _not_ the best idea we'd ever had.

He turned around, and eyed us all. "I thought I offered you to _sit_…"

So we sat.

He smiled at us, and he continued to look at me and Hinata and Tenten like we were a very sumptuous dinner, to be consumed at leisure.

I think I hated him more then I hated Silver, right at that moment. And I'd never hated _anyone_ more then I hated Silver.

"So, may I ask why you're all here? I wasn't really expecting any guests, tonight."

Naruto answered, his voice low and very unlike himself. "Like she said, we're here to collect."

Kabuto gave him an innocent look. "What could _I_ possibly have that you want?"

Tenten smiled, and I watched hatred flicker behind her eyes. So she thought he was as slimy as I did. Well, there was his nickname, anyways. Slimy might work pretty damn well. When she spoke, her voice held vicious tones to it. "Oh, I think you very well know. A couple of people, here and there, no one notices, but six at once?"

Hinata grabbed her sentence, and continued it. "And hunters, of all people? Did you think they'd not notice?"

He stared straight at her, his black-red-black eyes boring into her lavender ones, and I honestly think it was the most violent staring contest I'd ever seen in my life. And I was proud of Hinata. She did not look away, the way I would have (and that's because I fail at staring contests. Sigh).

"I've taken no one of importance."

"Really?" I asked, my voice full of deadly amusement. "Really, really?"

"Really, really," he answered me, and I was reminded of mine and Sasuke's conversation from yesterday. I knew Sasuke was reminded of it, too, because the skin around his eyes went white, and he clenched his jaw.

"I've taken nothing that did not already belong to me."

"Then what about Kakashi Hatake, his wife, and the other hunters that have recently disappeared? If you don't have them, then who does?" Sasuke asked him, his voice deadly and soft and silk-smooth.

Kabuto continued to give him the I'm-innocent-don't-blame-me look, and Sasuke simply glared at him coldly. Wow, either Sasuke _really_ doesn't like him, or there is some seriously bad blood between Kaeleo and this slimeball…

"Ah," Kabuto whispered, his eyes flicking back and forth over Sasuke face. "So _that's_ where you've been hiding, Kaeleo. They said you were dead, but I knew you wouldn't die."

Sasuke's eyes glazed over for a fraction of a second, and it was Kaeleo who spoke next. "You fairly _murdered_ me," the noble hissed.

"Ah, I know. It was such an unforgettable sight, watching you lie there, on the ground. So… beautiful. I take it for granted you made a quick pact with this boy to save your own life?"

"I had to."

"And I also take it for granted that Kendra was angry with you?"

Kaeleo paused to consider these words. "Not at me, perhaps. At you, very definitely. At the boy, even more so. But when Kendra finally gets her way, and she will, it will be very painful for the both of us."

"I still hate you, you know."

"For what, saving that girl?"

Kabuto's voice grated on a hiss. "She _killed_ my Orochimaru-sama! She ought to have _died_."

"She was just a _child_!" Kaeleo let a snarl etch itself onto his lips, and I was struck at how different he and Sasuke were. Kaeleo's snarl was a flaring of nostrils, and a grating of bared teeth. Sasuke's snarl was a low, guttural growl, but he, too, tended to bare his teeth at whatever he was snarling at.

But Orochimaru… why did that name strike a chord in my memory. It came to me in a gasp of cold realization. _Anko_.

I had to break into the conversation. "Where _is_ she?!"

They both looked at me, startled. They'd obviously forgotten there was anyone else in the room, in the middle of their stupid little fight.

I glowered at the both of them. "Where is my _mother_?! If you don't give her back to me _this instant_, I will make your life _very_ painful." By the end of the second sentence, my voice had ripped through two octaves, and was a high, grating sound that I instantly hated.

Kabuto smiled at me. "Oh, so _you're_ the pretty little Anko's daughter… That's what she screamed about, you know, when she was sleeping, that I better not go near her daughter."

I lost control of my five-year-old then, right about the time when he was in the middle of speaking, and by the time he finished, I was standing behind him, a sharp knife poised at his jugular in my right hand, and a cocked gun at the bas of his skull in my left. I had moved fast right then, faster then I'd ever moved in my life, but it didn't mean anything to me right at that point. It meant nothing at all, not if my parents were dead.

"You will _take me to her_." I murmured in his ear, my voice lullaby-sweet. He didn't move, but from the looks on the other's faces, he hadn't even moved a muscle.

"And if you kill me, do you really think you'll find them?"

"I know they're in this building. If I have to rip it to shreds, stone by stone, to find them, I will."

He sighed theatrically. "Well, you must let me get up, if you wish to see your family ever again, little Hatake."

"Fine."

I pulled back, but I kept my gun trained on his skull. One was dying tonight, and it _wouldn't_ be someone I cared about. It _wouldn't_ be. I wouldn't _let_ it be.

He pointed to a door to the left of the kitchen, but he didn't move, not until I prodded him in the side with the barrel of the gun. "I said _take me to her_."

He sighed again, still as poised as before, but he led the way. The others, who were still quiet, seemed suddenly nervous. "What if's" ran through my mind, and my pulse raced in my chest and at my wrist, and I bit back a squeak of terror.

I am _not scared_, I told myself over and over, but it didn't really take, and part of me was shaking in something like anticipation, and something like horror at the unknown, at the same time.

He led us into a dark room, and flicked on the single light in the place, even thought it wasn't really necessary.

I could see my parents from here.

Horror screamed through me as I saw them floating, suspended, in thick, glowing green liquid. I screamed and screamed and screamed, until I felt Sasuke clap a hand over my mouth.

Kabuto was grinning, in a sick sort of way, and I completely lost control again.

Knives clashed as I aimed for his jugular, my guns forgotten. This was _personal_, now, and even though shooting him would have been more efficient, it wasn't the revenge I wanted, the revenge I _needed_. And the others, they knew it too.

I danced around him, slamming quick, random stabs in his general direction. I laughed when I got him, once in the shoulder, and once in the stomach. Neither wound was fatal, but they _would_ be causing him _extreme_ pain for a _very_ long time, and that was what I wanted.

I slammed the hilt of one of the knives into his face, and he howled in pain as I heard his nose break, and his glasses crashed on the floor. While he was preoccupied with trying to find them, and I grasped him by the neck, and held him there, pinned to the floor.

"I will _kill_ you for this."

He laughed breathlessly, and I pressed down on his windpipe harder. I was going to _kill_ him.

"Oh, little one, what good luck you have…"

I snarled, and pulled the phial off his neck with a sharp tug. Kendra wanted it, and it seemed important, because Kabuto's eyes narrowed as I pulled it away from him. He couldn't even move, with the way I had him pinned, and I was taking something important away from him.

Then Sasuke pulled me off him, and held me while he got up, rubbing his throat, and staring at all of us tersely.

"I'm letting you live, because I think Kendra will be less merciful then Sakura is. Get out of my sight, Kabuto." Sasuke said, his voice low, and I knew that it was Sasuke talking, not Kaeleo.

Kabuto laughed, his breathing ragged as he fled the room.

But I'd already forgotten about him, as I rushed to the glass tanks that held my parents in something like suspended animation.

"How do we get them out?" I demanded.

"That slime-ball knew."

I looked away, shamefaced. He might have even told us, but I lost control and fucked up. Damnit, I _hate_ it when I lose my cool…

Hinata was staring at it, her gaze inquisitive. "Sakura, break the glass."

"Are you _sure_?!"

"Break. It." Her voice was sure, and I believed her. I pulled out my gun, and pointed it, wincingly, and the bottom of the tank that Anko was in.

And then I pulled the trigger.

---

The glass cracked as soon as the bullet impacted. Spider web-thin cracks ran along the entire surface of the glass, but it had only broken through in one place, and already, the thick green liquid was gushing out.

As it drained slowly, it gently deposited Anko at the bottom on the tank, as gentle as a mother putting her baby to rest in a crib. I shot the glass again, and watched the spider web cracks shatter, and the glass fell all around my mother in a glittering shower.

But even as it fell, it should have shredded her to pieces. It didn't touch her at all. Not a piece of glass even touched where the green liquid had previously been.

Hinata turned and looked at Naruto. "Naruto-kun, could you please pick her up, and get her out of there? We need to get them to Tsunade as fast as we possibly can. I'm worried about them…"

Her forehead creased as she looked at the rest of us. "Well? Get them out of there!!!"

And so we did.

My heart was breaking, of course, but I shoved it off into a corner, to be dealt with later on in life. Right now, my parents _lives_ hung in the balance, and all that mattered was time.

We didn't know what the hell the gunk that Kabuto had kept them in was, and so we didn't know long they had to live. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hinata collecting samples of the guck in a couple of phials that mysteriously appeared.

That reminded me.

I looked down at the little phial in my hand.

It was a glittering, shiny, sparkly white that hurt my eyes, even in the dimly lit room. Kendra wanted it. I didn't want it. It scared me. There was _power_ pulsing through this thing, and I hated it. It was _weird_.

I looked over at the other, and I saw that they had all the adults out of the green-guck-glass-cylinders, and that they were looking at me.

I sighed, grabbed Anko's lifeless arm, hoisted it over my shoulder, and dragged her from the room, panic speeding my every step.

---

The leech at the reception desk wasn't there, and so the six of us pulled the six missing adults from the place without anyone knowing we were ever there.

I shook, as I clipped the seatbelt around Anko's waist. I wrapped my arms around her in a hug, and listened for her heartbeat.

It was there, very faint and fluttering like a baby bird, but it was there. I nearly _cried_, I was so happy that she wasn't dead. But I knew that we didn't have long. They needed a hospital, and _fast_.

So we wouldn't be sleeping tonight.

As I got into the passenger seat next to Sasuke, I looked at him, and I started to cry silently.

It was the first time that night that I'd had the time to _feel_.

Before, it had just been mind-numbing fury. Now there was time to feel _everything_, not just the fury, but the horror, and the sadness, and the _fear_.

But I was thankful for one thing. No one that I care about _died_ tonight.

For once, I was happy that I'd been wrong. For once, I was _so happy_ that I'd been wrong, I was crying with it.

But then, I was crying with a lot of things, fear and fury and hatred and horror included.

I sighed as Sasuke fired up the engine.

"Hurry…" I whispered to him, and he nodded, and we smoothly pulled away from the curb.


	20. Chapter 20

SEE?! HINATA'S NOT DEAD!!!! BAHAHAHA, NARUSAKU LOVERS!!! DOWN WITH THEE!!!!

And I seriously fucked my leg up. It hurts. And this is pointless fluff. I love it.

**Disclaimer** Naruto does not belong to me. He belongs to Hinata.

**Dedication**: To Rammstein, and Breaking Benjamin and Escape the Fate, once again.

---

Sasuke's foot hit the gas as he took a sharp turn at sickening speed, and we flew through the night. We were moving faster, right at that second, than I'd ever moved in my life. We were moving so fast that everything outside the window was simply a dark blur. Either Sasuke could feel my screaming instincts, or he was as worried as I was.

And we got lucky, for once. Naruto had decided to take the van, so we had just enough space to get all the adults home. No one had even asked who was going to sit where. They knew that both Kakashi and Anko were going in whichever vehicle I was going in.

I couldn't stand to be away from them right now. I just couldn't.

And so I was sitting in the front seat, shooting glances at the two of them in the back, still as lifeless as they were the first second we pulled them out of that glowing green guck. If they were dead, I wouldn't sleep until Kabuto was dead, until he was nothing more the ash on the wind. As it was, he was going to be dead within the week.

I just would allow myself some time to sleep.

Or, I might just let Kendra deal with the slimy bastard. She _really_ seems to dislike him. I don't really blame her, either. He's a _creep_.

At the thought of the red-headed noble girl who looked so much like my mother, my fingers clenched around the little crystal phial that was sitting in my palm. She would get it later, after I knew my parents were safe and sound and going to _live_. I raised my eyes to the mirror again, and caught sight of Anko's unconscious face, and just as I did, a tendril of thick, undiluted hatred ran through me.

Kabuto was going to _die_ for this. He was just going to _die_. I didn't know how, but I knew that Sasuke was right in pulling me off the dude. I would have just crushed his windpipe, straight out, and ended his life, no pain involved.

But simple, straight, painless death was too damn good for the slimy bastard. I wanted him to feel as much pain as I have, in the last sixteen years of my life. I wanted him to _scream_ for the mercy that I'd never let him have.

I sighed, and pressed my forehead against the cool glass of the window, trying to calm the sudden surge of sadism. It wasn't working very well, because the urge to rip Kabuto's heart out was still raging just beneath my skin.

I took a deep breath of oxygen, but it wasn't the ivy, mind-numbing-cold air that I knew would calm my reactions and clear my head.

I hate the cold, but it's very good for calming oneself down. But I didn't even have time to think about that, right at that second. We needed to get my extended family the medical attention they needed.

We'd been driving _drive-drive-driving-down-highways-that-go-on-forever_ for so long, and I was starting to get edgy. I didn't know how long any of the adults _had_, and it was starting to physically _pain_ me.

"How long?" I whispered into the still interior of the car.

"Ten minutes, max," Sasuke murmured back, and I let my breath rush out of my body in a huff of relief. Ten minutes was better then an hour, even though I knew I would be digging my nails into my hangs for the rest of the ride.

And I also knew that Tsunade would send us back to Kendra.

I mean, we'd left a bunch of our stuff in that dingy hotel, and it would _not_ be good to leave so much evidence of our presence (not to mention the tell-tale guns that were hidden all over the place) in the room.

Because, let's face it, _very_ bad things could happen if people put two and two together, and then figured out the reason that an apparently wealthy young man just disappeared from sight, and fairly randomly, too.

When he died, he'd burst into flames and salt, just like all the other leeches, and that would be the end of him.

I dug my nails farther into my palms. Five minutes… Three…

And then headquarters was in view, and a wave of relief and something else, something like regret, crashed over me. Tsunade would fix them. She'd save Kurenai's baby, and I'd be an aunt (or a cousin, depending on how you looked at it…) and then everything would be good again.

I might even go back to school, if it made Kakashi happy. And Anko would have plenty of opportunity to squeal over Sasuke and I.

Things would go back to being the way they were _supposed_ to be.

But life never works out the way we want it to, and this was proof. I didn't even know if Tsunade was going to be here so late.

I shook my head furiously, and pulled Anko out of the car. Tsunade had to be here. She _had_ to be.

I dragged my adoptive mother to the crappy door, and I didn't even knock. I just kick it in, my foot breaking through the fake-wood covering, and hitting solid, enchanted silver. I smirked, and did it a second time, the sounding sound clear as a ringing bell, and _loud_.

Someone pushed it open from the inside, and I dragged the dead weight I was carrying into the blackness.

Happily, it didn't go as dark as I was used to, and I knew the others were behind me, carefully carrying their charges, just as I was carrying mine.

The person who had opened the door was Lee.

Oh dear god, not _now_…

"Oh, my lovely Sakura! Your blossom of youth never ceases to amaze me-"

I cut him off. I _did not_ have time for this. "Lee, get me Tsunade. _Right_. _Now_," I ground out, my teeth grinding together as I forced the words out.

The smile on his face died, and he looked concerned. I like Lee like a brother, and he knew when I was being serious. He nodded slowly, once, and disappeared into the pitch blackness beyond where our group was standing.

We didn't even have to wait a full sixty seconds.

Tsunade came flying out of the darkness at us, and we all managed to avoid getting hit. Her hair was in a sort of disarray, and I looked at her like she was a nut job.

"We found them."

"I can see that. I'm not even going to ask what happened, you can tell me tomorrow. Go back home, get some sleep, because you look exhausted. But I expect you back here tomorrow morning."

I nodded, my eyes half closed. I was so tired.

Someone pulled Anko away from me, and part of me wanted to cling to her, and to never let my mother out of my sight again. But the rational part of my brain registered that she needed medical attention, and _fast_.

I could feel myself falling asleep, the day catching up to me, and I swayed on my feet where I stood. Sasuke was standing beside me suddenly, and he gently wrapped his arms around my waist. I curled into his grip.

I didn't even care. Hell, if it had been _Silver_ I would have curled into him. I was exhausted, and I felt safe, and that was all the mattered.

"Sasuke?" I mumbled.

"Yeah?" He answered my question with a question. How annoying.

"I'm gonna fall asleep on you now…"

"You do that," he said, his voice a soft chuckle.

And then I closed my eyes, tucked my head beneath his chin, and I stopped _thinking_ for once.

---

I woke up in my own room for the first time in what seemed like a long time, with the crazy-colour-white _not-white-white-white-anymore-not-untainted-not-pure_ walls, and I sighed in something like relief. I didn't know what time it was, but, once again, for the first time in a long time, I'd actually slept, no dreams of death and carnage and staring, empty eyes.

I felt like myself again, with no dreams to disturb my sleep. I felt… _better_. I rolled over, and was met with a chest. Sasuke's chest.

I didn't even freak out, I was so used it, by then.

Wow, that's actually kind of sad, now that I think about it… I nuzzled my nose into his collarbone, and was awarded with a soft groan. I smiled, and _breathed_ on his throat. It was the exact same spot that had riled him up so badly last time.

He sat up, his eyes wild, and then he realized where he was.

"Damn it, Sakura, don't _do_ that!"

I laughed, clear and high and happy _and-don't-forget-crazy-crazy-crazy_, and for once, it felt like it was worth something. I just laughed and laughed and laughed, early in the morning, and I smiled up at Sasuke, who was currently leaning over me, and who was running his fingers through my hair with a strange smile on his lips.

"You fascinate me, did you know that?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "_Thanks_, I appreciate the fact that I amuse you."

He shook his head. "I didn't say you amuse me, well, you do, but I said you _fascinate_ me."

"It still seems like you're laughing at me," I muttered, with a roll of my eyes.

"I'm not." And then he brushed his nose along my jaw, and it kind of tickled. I giggled, and pushed him off of me. That didn't work so well.

We ended up wrestling on the bed like a pair of four-year-olds, and it was so much fun. I couldn't even remember having so much fun in my entire life. And I found out that he happens to be ticklish in random places, like just below his hip bone.

Insert evil giggle here.

Eventually, we ended up lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling, simply enjoying the early-morning silence.

"We have to go see Tsunade… she told me so last night."

"Hn, I know."

"Should we get up and go find Hinata and the others?"

I could feel his shrug of indifference. "I kind of like it here, actually."

I smiled, and curled close to him. It was so nice, being close to him. How did I ever dislike him? Oh, yeah… he was a pompous asshole. For that matter, he's _still_ a pompous asshole. It's just cuter, now. And not as git-ish, for that matter.

I yawned, but it was 'fine-I'm-up' kind of yawn, rather then a 'screw-you-all-I'm-going-back-to-sleep' kind of yawn.

"C'mon, lazy, get up."

"No." And with this pronouncement, he locked his arms around my waist, and rolled on top of me, effectively cutting of any and all movement. Blah.

"Get offa meeeee!!!" I whined, but he just chuckled.

I pouted at him, and gave up. Forget it, I was still tired. This was the first time I'd been up before noon for the past week. I think I had a right to sleep after the kind of night I'd just had.

As I lay there beneath stupid Sasuke (somehow, he wasn't crushing me, but at the same time, he was impeding any and all movement…), I thought back on the previous day. I thought about Kabuto's creepy snake-grin, that evil experiment room, even Kaeleo and Kabuto's dumb conversation about Anko. I thought about the look on Hinata's face when she was holding Naruto's hand; scared and shy and happy and worried and every other emotion anyone had ever experienced at once. I thought about Tenten and Neji, and everything they represented. I thought about the look on _Tsunade's_ face, when she saw the people we were carrying into her nutty little lair.

I thought about Sasuke, helping me carry my parents out of that hellish place.

I thought about everything, and then some.

And I realized, that even though we managed to get so much done, from dealing Kabuto a swift kick in the nuts, to getting that little phial for Kendra, there was still so much to be done. I mean, Kabuto was still _alive_, which I _really_ didn't like.

And not only that, there would always be other leeches to kill, and then other leeches to take their place. There would always be _more_. Ours was a never-ending job.

Because no matter how old you were, you never really retired.

It just went against the grain, and Kakashi was living proof of that fact. He _still_ couldn't lay off working missions, even though both Anko and I wished he would.

I just hope this last mission wouldn't kill some of the last people I _really_ cared about. I looked up at Sasuke, still basically sitting on me, and I noted that he was staring at me.

"Why're you staring at me?" I asked him.

"Because I can?"

"Why do you always answer my questions with questions?"

"Why do you?"

I rolled my eyes in frustration. Seriously, could this guy get _any_ more annoying? I lo- like him, but it's not enough to make me hate it _any_ less when people answer my questions with questions. I want _answers_, damnit!

So I growled up at him, and pushed him off of me (or at least I _tried_), but it didn't work very well. He chuckled, and rolled off of me, but he didn't remove his arms from around my waist.

And I can't exactly move him on my own. He's twice my size. It kind of sucks, actually.

"Go back to sleep, princess."

"No, I want to go see the adults. Please?" I pouted at him as I said it, and made my eyes big and wide and teary

He didn't even roll his eyes, but he _did_ let me get up. Ah, _there_ were the magic words…

While I got dressed (tossing clothes all over the place in my haste to find something _clean_ to wear…), he spent his time lying on the bed, looking for all the world totally in his element.

It was kind of scary that it was _my_ bed he was lying in, actually, when I think about it. I shook the slight terror and the huge amounts of awe off, and I growled at nothing in particular.

I couldn't find _anything_ to wear. _Nothing_!

WHERE WERE ALL MY FAVORITE CLOTHES?!

Oh, yeah, they were still at the hotel… shit… We'd have to go get them, at some point, and soon, too. I want my clothes back.

So, in the end, I decided on a pair of light-coloured jeans that I'd scribbled all over in crazy-colourful permanent marker, and a simple, clinging, black long-sleeved cotton shirt.

I pulled them on, and then went back to where Sasuke was _still_ lying; staring at the ceiling like it was the most engrossing thing in the world. Idiot.

I sat down next to him, and I carefully grabbed the phial Kendra wanted, and tied it around my wrist like a bracelet, looping the string around my hand twice, and then I blinked down at him. "Hi."

"Hey."

"You gonna get up?" I asked him, and he shrugged.

I rolled my eyes, and answered my own question. "You're getting up. You'll root through my stuff if I'm not around to watch you."

A smirk twisted itself over his lips, and I knew I was right. He would have been going through everything he could get his hands on, if I let him.

I wasn't sure how I felt about that. He's the closest anyone has ever gotten to me, but I'm not sure I want him going through my _life_. That could be… awkward, if you know what I mean.

I stood up, and this time, I pulled him with me. I blinked when I realized he was still wearing his clothes from yesterday. They were all rumpled and not… Sasuke. I winced. He needed clothes, badly.

And the only guy clothes in the house were Kakashi's.

Dear lord, this was going to be awkward, especially if Kakashi was awake…

Obviously, Sasuke saw where my train of thought was going, and he chuckled. "Don't worry Sakura, we'll stop at the compound, and I'll grab some of my own clothes. Wearing Kakashi's are just… weird."

I nodded in relief. "Too weird to comprehend. I'm _so_ glad you understand that."

He chuckled again, and he stood up, unfolding all six foot four of him. I glared up at him. He was exactly a foot taller then me. _Argh_. _So_. _Annoying_.

"I hate you, did you know that?"

He grinned down at me. "Yeah, I did."

I huffed, and pulled him out of the room without another glance at the mess. Who cared? I'd clean it later, when Anko's OCD acted up.

Because I refused to face the fact that she might not be around for her OCD to act up. I just… _refused_. I clamped my fingers tightly around Sasuke's, and I hoped he wouldn't ask.

But, of course I knew he wouldn't. I didn't have to tell him not to ask things like that, not anymore. He just _knew_ what I wanted, what I needed.

He _knew_, the same way Kakashi and Anko had known to let me grieve for my birth parents the way I wanted to.

I needed people like them. _Do-we-really-need-need-need-them_?

I took a deep breath of air, and carefully leaned against his lanky frame as we walked. I felt the tiny smile cross his lips, and he gently untangled our fingers to wrap his arm around my shoulder.

He pressed his lips against my hair, and we walked out the front door.

---

I walked into the infirmary, my jaw clenched tight. I wasn't sure I was ready to see the adults in a state other then conscious. I wasn't ready for that at all, actually, even though I was mentally preparing myself for the worst. It was kind of dumb of me, but I _always_ ready myself for the worst.

I pushed the doors open to the 'critical condition' area with a wince. I hate hospitals. I just hate them. I actually think I hate them more then I hate the cold, I really do.

Sasuke was beside me, his fingers curled around mine again. It was easier then having me cling to him. I didn't need, nor did I want, his pity.

But when I saw the six adults we'd saved last night laughing and joking with each other, I nearly screamed.

"You _IDIOTS_!!!!!" I screeched, my voice reaching decibels not previously known to the human voice.

They all turned around, and blinked at me innocently. "Don't kill us!!!" They chorused, because they all knew I was seriously contemplating it. I took a deep breath, to steady myself so that I didn't kill any of them, and so that I would have enough oxygen to keep screaming at them if I wanted to.

Turns out I just wanted to attack them all with hugs. "Do you have any idea how _worried_ I've been?!"

"Probably as bad as Tsunade, I'm guessing," chirped Kurenai.

I blinked at her. "Is the baby alright?"

She blushed, smoothed her fingers across her sheet-covered abdomen, and nodded happily. "This little one will be fine."

I smiled back at her. "That's good. Now, _you_ two," I said, turning and smiling dangerously at Kakashi and Anko. They both paled considerably, and a wave of smug satisfaction washed over me.

They had damn well _better_ be scared. I was going to give them a tongue-lashing they'd never forget.

And just as I was about to start on my rant, something covered my mouth. It was Sasuke's hand. Fury hit me. No! I had this speech all planned out, too!!! I wanted him to let me go, and I was still angry, but it was fading fast. I had just been so damn scared that they were going to be dead…

I'd calmed down, and I wanted to breathe normally, so I tugged on Sasuke's shirt-sleeve, but he didn't move. I rolled my eyes, and manually tried to remove his hand. That didn't take, either. So I took the last option available to me.

I bit him.

Not hard, but hard enough to make him yelp and let me go. I smirked at him, while he glared at me, and nursed his hand.

The adults watched the proceedings with something like amusement.

"You know, those two kind of remind me of the way Shizune and Genma were… although, considering, it took Genma a _hell_ of a lot longer to get through to Shizune. Remember, Shizu? You hated being in his presence for _months_."

Shizune rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Anko, I had my reasons."

"Of course you did, darling, of course you did."

Shizune just rolled her eyes again. "Sakura, get out of here, before they taint you with their idiocy."

I nodded at my surrogate aunt, and covered a smile with my hand. I went and hugged each one of them, saving Anko for last.

"I had _plenty_ to tell you," I whispered in her ear as I pulled away, and her eyes went wide. Anko hates secrets. _Especially_ tantalizing secrets, like that one. And it wasn't very nice of me to spring one on her.

Not nice at all. Just as she was about to protest me telling her such a thing, Sasuke's phone rang. She closed her mouth when he flipped it open. Ha-ha.

"Yes?"

Stupid Sasuke, he doesn't even say 'hello' anymore…

"Right now? Why?"

I perked up. It sounded like Tsunade was yelling at him.

"No, no we- Wait, yes, we are, Sakura wanted- Right _now_?!"

Yup, Tsunade was definitely yelling at him. I _told_ him she wanted to see us first thing in the morning, but does he listen? No, of course not!

"Fine," he groaned, and then snapped the phone shut. I blinked at him.

"What'd she want?"

"We have to go."

"Told ya so. This is _Tsunade_. Her way, or the highway, remember?"

He groaned again. "Right."

And then the two of us left the infirmary, but I managed to turn around five times in that period of time, and I managed waves and worried looks galore. I was quite proud of myself.

Thankfully, the infirmary isn't very far from where Tsunade wanted to see us.

When we got there, the others were already there, and I got glomped by both Hinata and Tenten. I sighed. My dear friends are such idiots.

"So, Tsunade, why'd you call us all so early?" I asked.

She rubbed her forehead, and I noted that she looked even more exhausted then normal. She looked tired, and strangely _old_. Tsunade _never_ looks old. Tsunade's timeless.

"First odd, I need to congratulate you on your performance last night. You did what you were told to do. You got my agents back, without them being in too serious condition."

I could feel a huge 'however' coming. And I was right.

"However," she said, holding up a hand, "You all let something happen that shouldn't have happened. You let a threat live."

I rolled my eyes. "Blame him," I said, pointing at Sasuke. "I would have crushed the bastards windpipe, and that would have been the end of him, and then we wouldn't have had to worry about him anymore."

Tsunade shook her head, silencing me.

"You children have to go back to Kendra, and tell her that he's still alive. You also need to gather the crap you left at that hotel. Be careful. I want you back within the week."

We blinked at her, and she glared at us.

"I told you what to do! Get out of my office! Go!"

We blinked at her again, and then at each other, and then we got the hell out of there. Tsunade's _scary_ when she's angry.

As the six of us left the building, I took a deep breath of icy air.

"So, what are we waiting for? We've got our orders, don't we?"

They nodded at me, and we went and grabbed our separate cars, and we were on our way. When we were sitting in the car, my fingers clenched around the little crystal phial. I was burning to know just what the hell was in it, but I didn't dare open it.

I had a bad feeling about it. It was power, there was no doubt about it, but there was something… more then unsettling, something _dangerous_… about it.

I didn't like it one bit, but I clenched it close, as Sasuke hit the gas, and we were on our way.

---

I stared out the window, distaste thick on my tongue. I really didn't like that hotel, and I _refused_ to stay another night there. We'd stay somewhere else, anywhere else, but I would _not_ be confined to this place, any longer.

I finished stuffing all my clothes into my bag, and tossed it on the steadily-getting-larger pile of luggage that was sitting in the hallway. Both Neji and Sasuke standing guard around said pile of luggage, eyeing the people who went by warily.

Boys are _so weird_.

Then again, I don't blame them. _I_ don't want people anywhere _near_ the suitcases that are hiding my guns. That's one thing I'm exceedingly paranoid about. I don't like people I don't know going through my stuff, so sue me.

I went back into the room, and pulled out the last, huge, heavy suitcase, and I hauled it out with a huff. I can stand guard just as well as Sasuke can. I think he's just being a wimp about carrying heavy stuff, the loser.

"Is that everything?" I asked Tenten, who had just come out of their room, also carrying a huge bag.

"Yup," she answered with a nod.

"Then let's get out of here. This place _still_ gives me the creeps."

So out we went, and we found Temari, Shikamaru, Karin, and Suigetsu all waiting patiently for us outside. Apparently, they'd been packed up and ready to go at a moment's notice.

"You guys going back to see Tsunade?" Temari asked all of us.

Naruto shook his head. "Nah, we've got to go see a bunch of blood suckers… Dunno why, though."

I shrugged, and picked up his train of thought. "I've got something for Kendra, and then she owes me an explanation. Or two. Or three. Or eight."

They nodded, and then we said our goodbyes. Honestly, I was surprised they had stayed and waited for us, for that long. In any other circumstances, I would have been out of there faster then light.

I hate creepy places.

We stuffed the three cars full of baggage, and we were ready to go. I slipped into the passenger seat of the Viper (because, let's face it, it had gotten to the point where I _knew_ Sasuke wouldn't let me drive… It's a control thing, with him, I think…) and we sped away.

I love cars. I really do.

It took us _maybe_ five minutes to get to the blood bar. We were dressed normally, and it wasn't even _close_ to sunset, but right now, that didn't matter.

I looked down at the little crystal phial in my hand as we sped along. I wanted to get this thing to Kendra, and get it _away_ from me. The longer I held it, the more I disliked it. There was just something about the way it sparkled, even when it was in a totally black room, that freaked me right out. _Nothing_ normal does that.

I tucked it away, and tried not to think about the fact that even though I'd been holding it since early in the morning, it was still cold.

We got out at the blood bar (I wrinkled my nose in distaste), and we went down the eerily familiar route to the nobles' little hidey-hole.

I kind of expected them all to be asleep… I mean, it's the middle of the day and whatever, and I dunno… I just _did_.

I didn't expect them all to be wide awake, and staring strangely at us as we passed through the room, straight to where Kendra was sitting.

There was an odd little smile on her lips, and it quirked when she saw me.

I didn't even say anything; I just held out the crystal phial to her, and she reached down, and took it out of my grip. Something like triumph crossed her face, but it quickly changed to tender amusement.

Okay, _that_ was just plain scary.

"Thank you, Sakura…" she whispered. "Thank you very much."


	21. Chapter 21

Now that I'm just so happy that Hinata's still alive, I'm going to write! Music was Breaking Benjamin, Marianas Trench, and the Goo Goo Dolls. Ignore the fucked-up mix of music. Seriously. I don't know what's wrong with me, either.

**Disclaimer**: Did you know, I'm starting to get sick of these…

**Dedication**: To going to Italy. I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

---

Kendra, still smiling, raised her eyes to Sasuke. She stared at him curiously _curious-curious-like-a-cat-waiting-for-a-mouse_, and whispered "Kaeleo?"

As I watched in fascinated horror, Sasuke's eyes glazed over as the two men in Sasuke's body fought for control.

Kaeleo won, hands down, because when he spoke next, it wasn't in Sasuke's normal voice-tone, but a formal, almost aloof voice. "Kendra, my dear…"

She looked at him strangely at him, like she was contemplating an infinitesimally large piece of the universe. Maybe she was.

Then she raised the little crystal phial, and tossed it to him. He caught it, midair, and I watched it shine in his fist for a moment. Unknown terror seized me, and I almost grabbed it out of his hand, but by the time I reached for it, he had uncorked it, and knocked whatever was in it back.

I wanted to scream, but I closed my throat off as Kaeleo and Sasuke both swayed a little. They (well, I guess they were a _they_… they might have shared a body, but they _really_ didn't like each other…) shuddered, and then they collapsed.

Kendra looked down at the two of them, no pity on her face.

"What did you _do_ to him?!" I whipped around, and screeched at her.

She smiled slowly. "Nothing that will kill _them_."

She emphasized the 'them', and I immediately got suspicious. There was something _off_ about that statement… Something really _weird_.

"Fine. What did you do to _them_?"

She leaned her head on her hand, and she smiled again, her fangs curving over her bottom lips, and I was reminded of a dream -or was it a memory?- from a long time ago. Then again, it might not have even been that long ago.

"I suppose I owe you an explanation."

"Yeah, y'think?!"

"I'll only explain in private."

I twitched. Not cool. I didn't trust her, and she didn't trust me, but we both lov -liked a version of the boy lying on the floor.

Someone touched my shoulder -large hand, thick knuckles, calluses. I guessed Naruto, and when I heard the voice, I figured I'd picked right. "We'll leave, Sakura. I think this is a little big for us."

"I won't be long," I whispered, but I knew I needed this. There was too much I didn't understand. There was too much that I didn't understand that I _needed_ to understand.

And then the presence of the only friendly beings was gone.

I felt very alone.

So I knelt down next to Sasuke, and I brushed my fingers across his forehead. He groaned, and fear gripped me again. What had that crazy bitch _done_ to him?!

"Help me get them up," her voice was quiet, across his body. "We need to get them into the other room. Come along."

I clenched my jaw, and helped the red-headed leech pull Sasuke up. His head lolled on his shoulder, and a thread of foreboding attacked me again. I _didn't_ like this. I didn't like this _at all_.

"Damn," I hissed, and lugged him up. "Sasuke, you gotta lose some weight, you're fat."

She chuckled softly, bitterly, and helped me drag his unresponsive body into a side room I'd never seen before.

It was a high-vaulted room, with almost-gothic-church style arches disappearing into the gloom that was the ceiling. There was very little light, but it all seemed to be emanating from a podium in the middle of the room. It was strange light, the same kind of light that had glittered out of the crystal phial, and all I could think was 'How the _hell_ did they manage to fit something like _this_ in _here_?!'

"Kendra… what the hell is this?!"

She turned her gaze to me, her eyes tired. "This, little one, is my past, my present, and my future. And yours, too. Help me get them over here; we need to get them on the other bed…"

I complied, suddenly feeling a lot more comfortable. In a fight, I could obliterate her. I was packing guns, silver knives, and a pissy attitude, and we both _knew_ it. So this wasn't about who was stronger.

We pulled Sasuke up the podium steps, and I was presented with the _weirdest_ sight I've ever seen in my _life_.

There was a _bed_ on the top of the podium. Actually, there were two, but only one had a person in it. It was a guy, and he couldn't have been much older then Sasuke was. His hair was a light-honey-coloured, corn-silk blond, and it was strangely longish, falling limply across his eyes. Every one of his features was aristocratic to the extreme, and I watched as Kendra gently touched his cheek, the most terrible, broken tenderness in her eyes.

My breath left my lungs in a rush. _Kaeleo_.

So _that's_ what he looked like. Personally, I didn't find him that attractive. I can see how other people might; he was almost beautiful, but it just didn't attract me. I glanced at Sasuke, his head still lolling on my shoulder, unsupported.

"Kendra, what am I supposed to do with him?"

She blinked, taken aback, but carefully directed me to put him on the other bed. I shoved him there, and made sure he wouldn't fall off.

I didn't realize that while I'd been making sure Sasuke didn't fall off the weird little podium-bed, Kendra had been fluttering around, and fixing things, and strangely enough, _wincing_.

And she kept whispering a mantra that I couldn't quite hear, but it sounded like "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so, _so_ sorry…"

With a last wince, she motioned for me to follow her out of the room where'd I'd left Sasuke. I was loath to leave him alone, but I managed it. I followed her out, and she closed the door behind me with a soft 'click'.

"Kendra, you owe me an explanation, and you damn well know it."

She sighed softly. "I suppose I do." Her voice was wintry wind and dead leaves on pavement, and I suddenly wondered what sort of things she'd seen in her life.

"Come and sit down," she motioned towards a sturdy-looking table sitting in the middle of the room. I did.

"There is much that you don't know, Sakura Haruno. But I suppose I should start there."

I gasped when she said my real last name. How did she _know_ that?!

"I was born in 1793, to a pair of fairly wealthy parents, of Irish descent. That is where my hair colour is from, and my eyes were naturally greenish gray. As a human girl, I knew it would be my fate to marry and have children. And I was right. That's what happened. I was married to a man twice my age, one whom I did not love, when I turned fourteen. And I was soon pregnant thereafter."

She was staring into the distance, an odd look on her face. It was like she was remembering a particularly unpleasant scenario.

"Nine months of pure stupor, that is what pregnancy is. But eventually, I birthed a beautiful little girl, with hair as red-gold as any sunset I have ever seen, and eyes the colour of the summer sky. She was… the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my entire life. And I loved her. I may not have loved the father, but the daughter, certainly. She was my pride and joy. Her name was May."

"It was late November, cold and rainy, and deep in the evening. I had just turned seventeen, and that day I was out shopping for groceries, in the middle of New York City, all alone."

She shook her head ruefully.

"I was foolish, little one, foolish and naïve. I should not been alone. Even then, New York was a dangerous place, especially for a woman alone. And I was considered a woman, then. I was considered full-grown, from the day I first held life in my arms. You girls today are… so very lucky. But, then again… that is not relevant to this conversation."

"I got changed that night, and as immortal blood trickled through my veins, I knew I would never see my darling little girl again, not as her mother. My husband searched frantically for me, but he never found me. I learned quickly; too quickly, perhaps, that the world is hard place. I watched from the shadows as my daughter grew up, and she found a man who loved her for her, which made me happier then I can ever express."

I really wanted to interrupt. What the hell did this have to do with me?

She smiled at me, seeing where my though process was going. "The man she married belonged to a very powerful sect of vampire hunters, but I didn't know it at the time. If I had, I would have killed him on the spot. I should never have allowed her to become so immersed in so much that was dangerous. But it happened."

"Ten years after that, I met Kaeleo for the first time. I was already heading the noble line I'd been inducted to, my older sister never having wanted it, and then there was suddenly this _boy_," she said the word with distaste "Who had the audacity to think that he was better then me."

"We didn't like each other at all, little one. It lasted a very long time, because to us, we who live so long, your human years mean very little. It reminds me very much of Kethryn and Jason's relationship; it held that same quality of I-hate-you-you-hate-me-let's-agree-to-disagree. It lasted forever, and yet, it didn't last so long, at all."

I blinked at her sad smile. "What happened?"

I was already too entranced by her story _not_ to ask the very obvious question. I love stories; I always have, and hers was… interesting, to say the least.

"A war happened. The First World War, to be precise. It very nearly took him away from me, as well as several others. I was devastated. Our race was decimated, little one. So many died… You may think we are unfeeling monsters, but we are not. We simply feed a different way then you humans do; there is nothing barbaric about it. We drink to survive."

She shook her head again, and just as she was about to start speaking, a gargled half-yell tore through my ears. It was Sasuke's voice, and I whipped myself around, and raced towards the door.

It was locked. _Bitch_.

"Let me _see_ him."

"Them. And I can not do that. There's nothing either of us can do to spare them the pain of this. It _has_ to happen, Sakura. Do you not see?"

"What have you _done_?!"

"I'm doing what is only right. I'm separating them. It was not even my choice. It was Kaeleo's. He does not want to die with that boy, nor does he want to forcibly make to boy choose ever-lasting life. Kaeleo is not cruel."

My hand clenched around the locked doorknob, and my knuckles whitened. "_What_?!"

"It was the only choice. Neither you nor I would have simply allowed them both to die. And that is what would have happened. The human body is not built for two people, two minds, two hearts. Kaeleo was killing the boy, and the boy was killing Kaeleo."

There was determined sorrow on her face. "And I will not allow another person I love to die. I _refuse_ to allow it to happen."

I looked at her. "We're a lot alike, you and I, did you know?"

"Yes, I should think we are. Now, come back and sit down again. My tale is not yet complete."

"Will he scream more?" The words forced themselves past my lips; I had no say in the matter.

"They may very well scream more. It is not a happy experience, forcing someone from one's mind. But then, of course, it will be no worse then what they experienced when the boy and Kaeleo merged in the first place."

I set my jaw, nodded, and went and sat back down at the table.

"I told you that the war nearly destroyed us, yes?"

I nodded once.

"Wonderful. So, after the war, Kaeleo and I…, and Jason, too, although he was still so young at the time, we decided that it was better to be together, than to not be together. It was less painful. The war very nearly destroyed both our sanities, and it left us desperate for contact of any kind, especially with those of our own race. We found the remaining line heads, the ones that were living, and we started to rebuild everything we ever had."

"There were thirteen lines, once. _Thirteen lines_. That first war, as I've said, nearly destroyed us, in more ways then one. Mentally, for sure, but it decimated our numbers. The five surviving line heads went about finding proper humans to change, to repopulate our lines."

"Proper?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

She raised one in return. "But, of course. Your kind does not allow random humans to take the training required to become one of your own. There must be a - a spark, do you understand? There must be a light, of sorts. That person must _shine_. And there are so few that _shine_ the way a noble is expected to _shine_."

Another terrible scream rent the room, and I gritted my teeth together. I would control the urge to run bawling to his side. I would _control it_.

Kendra had the grace to wince. "They are in such pain… But they will both be better off for it, once they are through."

"How long will it last?"

"The rest of the day, at the most."

I closed my eyes, took a deep, steadying breath, and urged her to continue. "Go on, I'm not done hearing this story."

She half-smiled. "You are learning. Slowly, perhaps, but you do learn, I will give you that. I spoke of the thirteen lines, and… ah, yes."

"I went and looked for my daughter's daughter. Her husband had been killed in the war, and I searched frantically for my granddaughter any others that shared her blood. I wanted to know her, to know the two of them. I thought it unfair that everything I had ever wanted had been snatched from me. When I _did_ finally find them, all I found was grief. My granddaughter was dead, having aged and died from grief, herself. My great-granddaughter looked very much like her mother, and she had a little boy with her, at the cemetery where I first met them."

"The child was my great-great-grandson. You have no idea, little one, what it is like to cross generations the way I have. I do not age. I do not forget. I have been here so very, very long… It is tiring. Kaeleo… perhaps he did not understand my pain, but he understood that that little boy should have belonged to _me_. Or, at least, I felt it to be so."

"But that little boy was already learning to hunt, from his mother. And he had that spark that a noble needed. I wanted to change him. I never got the chance. The Second World War took hold of the planet, and this time we were careful. We rarely went out, and we carefully protected ourselves. The leaders of the lines stayed in careful contact. Jagh's mother passed away some years after that; she was killed by her previous human husband."

"It was a sad thing, that funeral. Illiana was a strong leader."

My throat constricted. Illiana… that had been Kakashi's mothers name. What the hell… I mean, it's not a common name… it couldn't be the same woman, could it?

"However, I think she was glad to go… she apparently had another son, before she had been changed. It broke my heart to hear her speak of that little boy…"

She stopped, and looked at me intensely. "You think of us as monsters, killing to simply satiate ourselves. But do humans not do the same thing? You kill because you fear. We do not justify our killing. We see no reason to. We kill because it is our right to kill, just as it is your right to kill us. But we have no morals on the issue. Food is food."

She was avoiding the topic.

"What about your great-great-grandson?" I asked, somehow knowing that she wanted to avoid that subject completely.

She sighed. "He was your great-grandfather, little one."

---

I gaped at her. "No _way_."

She nodded. "What reason would I have to lie?"

I blinked at her. "That's _really_ freakin' weird."

"I suppose so. It is an odd little thing, that we are related by some means… is it not?"

I nodded, strangely unsurprised. It was no wonder she reminded me so much of my mother… They were related, even though the blood line may have been diluted.

I shook my head in wonder. "Well, now we have the fact that I'm somehow… related… to you, what next? Because I kind of have a problem with being turned into a leech. I have a policy against it. And I still want to know why the hell you didn't go after Kabuto on your own."

She half-shrugged. "I have no wish to turn you. And I doubt you'd let me. I take it you'd kill yourself before you let yourself become one of us?"

I glared at her, and she smiled.

"That's what I thought. And as for Kabuto…" She abruptly changed the subject. "You have noticed, perhaps, that my race has become diluted, become stupid?"

I nodded slowly, remembering that she'd said he'd been tampering with their… natures?

"He has been using them as test subjects, injecting them with our equivalent of a steroid."

I was surprised she even knew what a steroid _was_.

"And there are other things. He is simply evil; as I'm sure your adoptive mother would agree. He is also a distasteful person, and I refuse to allow him to live. As to why I can not destroy him myself…"

Here, she paused, and smiled coldly. "I do not have the means to dispose of him. I have no qualms about killing my own race, but he has made it fairly clear that if I personally try to annihilate him, he will have everything I care about destroyed, starting with Kethryn and Storm. And those two have only started living. They do not deserve to have life taken away from them so early."

I just blinked at her. "You're so… _human_."

She nodded slightly. "It is the curse of the noble lines. We keep our human minds, and everything is, at worst, coldly clear to us. We balk at certain things, and find others easy to disregard. Everything is more real, to us. It makes it harder to ignore cruelty."

She closed her eyes. "We are many things, but not cruel. Never cruel."

I snorted. "Silver's cruel." _Cruel-like-ice-in-the-middle-of-the-winter…_

"He misses Argent, but Silver is a rare breed. It's the blood he has; it's more aggressive."

"And he's just an asshole," I muttered under my breath.

She nodded again, this time with a sharp, bitter laugh. "Yes, that he is."

I blinked at her. "There's a story there. I know it."

"Another time, perhaps."

"No, now. I have to wait here all day for Sasuke to wake up, because I'm not leaving him alone, so I might as well have some fun with it. What happened between you two?"

Her eyes went flinty. "Let us just say that I refuse to allow the council to have its way, and that is all I'm willing to tell you on that subject. Perhaps you ought to ask Silver." She spat his name. "He will undoubtedly tell you."

I smirked. "I'm pretty sure there are_ plenty_ of other things he can tell me, as well."

She smirked right back at me. "The question is not whether he _could_, it's whether he _would_."

I blinked. "Good point. Silver and I don't exactly get along all that well…"

"That is what I thought."

---

The day passed quickly; after I had left the others know exactly what was going on. I didn't tell them that I was related to the crazy red-head, because I almost found it to be personal information. And really, I had _no_ desire to share _that_ much personal information.

Hinata noticed something though, I think. She had given me one of her I-am-going-to-find-out-exactly-what's-wrong-with-you-as-soon-as-I-get-you-alone-and-then-I-am-going-to-kill-you-for-not-telling-me-sooner looks. I didn't doubt it, either.

Hinata's scary when she's mad.

I checked the time. And then I blinked in astonishment.

The day was gone; I must have fallen asleep and slept the day away. Hell, I had been _exhausted_…

But seriously, that's _bad_. I'm surprised I'm still _alive_.

I'm not exactly the safest of person to be allowed to live. Kendra must have had something to do with this; because I know for a _fact_ that if Silver had known I was in here, and asleep, and _vulnerable_, I would _not_ still be alive.

We hate each other enough to not waste a chance like that.

I groaned as I stretched my arms, and I was satisfied to hear several loud-ish 'pops' as my back cracked in several places. It felt _lovely_. I stood up, and went and checked the door to that had kept me from seeing Sasuke before this. I pushed on it.

It was still locked. I snarled.

_Fuck it_.

I pulled out my pistol, and blew the door handle off the door. It disappeared with a satisfying _crash_.

Without the lock, the door was just a door, and I kicked it open. I was _pissed off_. I was going to see Sasuke, whether they liked it or not. I had the right.

I ascended the stairs of the podium, and sat down next to Sasuke, on the edge of the nbed-thing.

The emotions playing across his sleeping face didn't seem very happy. In fact, with the way he was gritting his teeth, they seemed really painful. I gently touched his hair, and his eyes snapped open.

"Sakura…" he breathed, and then he lurched up into a sitting position on the bed, and wrapped his arms around me. I blinked, and hugged him back. Sasuke's not normally this… touchy-feely.

"Thank god, you're alright…" he whispered into my neck.

I blinked at the terrified tone of voice he was speaking in. "Sasuke, of course I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I had… dreams. Bad dreams. _Painful_ dreams."

"About what?" I asked, my voice very soft, reassuring him that I was, in fact, fine. Sure, I'd been annoyed as hell, but I hadn't been hurt.

"You. Kaeleo. Some girl with red hair. My brother. But mostly you."

"And they were painful… why?"

"You kept dying," he chuckled mirthlessly. "And I couldn't save you."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I very carefully leaned down, and kissed him gently on the forehead. "I'm not going to die."

"How do you know?"

"'Cause I got stuff to do. I can't die yet."

He wrapped his arms around me again, and pulled me down, to lie next to him. We were so close…

"You better not die."

"I won't." I whispered, and tucked my head underneath his chin. I was still so tired…

"Would you two _quit_ it? I don't wish to be sick. Kendra might not be very happy with you," a bored, aloof voice broke through the soft reverie we were in, and both Sasuke and I sat up at the same time, to glare at Kaeleo.

He was back in his body, and he didn't look worse for wear. He was just staring at us like he had nothing else interesting to stare at.

I reexamined him. He still wasn't my idea of attractive, with all that blond hair, and those red _red-red-red-as-the-blood-in-Silver's-glass-red_ eyes. He creeped me out. He just creeped me right out of my _mind_.

He looked directly at Sasuke. "You do realize that you still annoy me, correct?"

Sasuke sneered at him. "Of course. My sentiments exactly."

"Then we understand each other, on the subject that we spoke about yesterday."

"Yes."

"Good." Then he hauled himself off the bed, obviously not used to having to support a body the way the rest of us did, everyday.

I looked back at Sasuke, who was also forcing himself off the bed.

"Let's get out of here," was what he said, and I nodded in agreement. That place still gave me the creeps.

And getting out of there alive was the only thing on my mind.


	22. Chapter 22

I'm tired. Really tired. And I'm having emotional troubles. So just ignore me. Blah. And here's the calm before the storm. Written to Skillet and also to Breaking Benjamin.

**Disclaimer**: Still not mine.

**Dedication**: To weekends.

---

I was shaking as I tried to pull Sasuke out of the blood bar. He seemed out of it, really disoriented, almost like he didn't know where the hell he was. It was almost like he was looking for something.

I attributed it to finally having his own mind back.

"C'mon Sasuke, we have to get _out_ of here," I mumbled in his ear. He nodded, his eyes unfocused, staring.

I bit my lip, and tugged on his wrist. He followed me willingly, but there was just something _off_ in his gait, when he finally did move. He was off-balance.

Sasuke was _never_ off-balance.

"What the hell did she _do_ to you?!" I hissed, as I dragged him down one of the darkish corridors in the place. "It's like she took your _soul_!!!"

He just shook his head, his eyes still never focusing on anything, not even where he was putting his feet. He nearly tripped twice, and _that_ was when I _really_ started worrying.

Wait, maybe if I pushed him over…

I decided against it, considering the fact that his colour was draining away. My worry shot through the roof, and I gritted my teeth.

"Sasuke Uchiha, you are _not_ going to die on me here. You are _not_. I _refuse_ to let you die," I hissed at him, my nails digging into his wrist, and I tugged him down another hall way.

He just seemed _dead_.

I nearly screamed to myself, and I pulled Sasuke as fast as I could. He was _totally_ catatonic, and it was all I could do not to scream and rant and rage and kiss him, because god, I had been so worried, and now he was like _this_… I couldn't stand it.

I groaned, and all I could think was '_Screw_ it'. I whipped around, and looked at Sasuke. "Please come back to me, Sasuke, _please_. Please don't leave me," I whispered to him.

Life flickered in his eyes. My breath caught in my throat, and I grabbed fistfuls of his hair, and I pulled on them, _hard_. He was _not_ going to leave me all alone, I wouldn't let him. He was mine.

He was _always_ going to be _mine_.

"Ow, you bitch…" he muttered, and the light that had flickered was suddenly back in his eyes, and I knew it was back for good.

I gasped in relief, and then, once the fact that his Sasuke-ness wasn't dead, once it settled in me; I punched him in the gut. And I wasn't gentle.

I was too pissed off to be gentle.

"You stupid _bastard_," I seethed at him, every bit of worry and terror I'd felt in the past day converging into this one moment. I needed to vent it out, and screeching at Sasuke for his stupidity seemed like a good idea.

"How could you let Kaeleo have so much control that he nearly _killed_ you?! It might have been poison!!!"

He shook his head, too winded to speak. I was slightly proud of myself. It's normally impossible to wind Sasuke. Bahaha.

When he finally did get his breath back, he just murmured "Not now, too painful to think about…"

I rolled my eyes, but it was just a pretence. Despite my violence, I was actually seriously worried about him. And when I spoke next, my voice reflected that fact. It was too gentle to be my normal self.

"Let's get outta here…" I murmured softly, and I slung his arm over my shoulder.

And so, together, we limped away from that god-forsaken place, and out into the light.

---

Sasuke was in no condition to drive, and so I forced him into the passenger seat of the Viper as I flipped the phone Hinata had tossed at me yesterday morning open. There was only one number programmed into it, and it said 'Emergency'. I didn't even hesitate, and I hit 'Talk'.

It rang twice before someone picked it up.

"Sakura?!" The voice squeaked, and I sighed in relief when I heard Hinata.

"Hey. We're out of there."

"Sakura, there's something up. What's wrong?"

"Look, it's nothing, but where are you?"

"At the hotel," Hinata's voice caught as she said 'hotel'.

"Alright, we'll be there in a bit. See ya."

And then I hung up, flicking the phone closed. I didn't have time to talk, I had to get the hell out of here. I mean, seriously, it's totally dark out here, and I know for a _fact_ that a leech can't really say 'sorry' to a dead body.

And I'm in no mood to die tonight. _Because-dying-is-like-losing-and-we-don't-lose-do-we?_

I jumped in the driver's seat, and let my gaze flick to Sasuke. He was still sitting there, completely placid, his eyes still slightly unfocused. When I poked him softly in the shoulder, light flickered in his eyes again. I wanted to punch him, seriously.

I didn't like the fact that he only seemed barely there. I needed to get him to Tsunade. Or something. I just needed someone to wake him up. And I couldn't even get Kaeleo to take over to fix him, because the bastard wasn't in _there_ anymore.

I shuddered. Letting Kaeleo take over Sasuke's head had always felt like moral suicide, at least to me. But it didn't matter now. I grabbed the stick-shift, slammed the clutch, hit the gas, and we were gone.

I love speed.

Really, I do. And I think I'd forgotten what it's like, when you're just driving. Nothing matters, when you're driving, just you and the road and the speed and the street lamps flashing over your face.

It's just the most amazing thing in the world.

We sped down the dirty suburban streets. They were empty, which was a good thing. I didn't want to hit any humans while we were going this fast. It wouldn't just be instant death.

It would be instant chowder.

Yummy. I winkled my nose at the thought, and slowed as I turned into the hotel. I parked right in the front entrance, uncaring that there might be other people who showed up.

No one else is even _conscious_ at this time of night.

Not here, anyways. It's too dangerous to be conscious in a place like this at this time of night. Humans may be stupid, but they do have a sense of self-preservation-above-all-else that seems to help them survive.

I got out of the car, and I was surprised as Sasuke did, too.

He swayed, but his eyes were focused now. I groaned in relief. So he wasn't totally screwed. This was a good thing, to be honest.

I grabbed his hand, and his fingers clenched around mine. I smiled up at him, and then I pulled him into the hotel.

It was still as dirty and yucky as I remembered. I pursed my lips in distaste, and I didn't even acknowledge the existence of the still-the-creepiest-guy-in-the-world receptionist (even though he was grinning sickly at me… ewww…). I went straight to the elevator, and dragged Sasuke inside.

Everything seemed to pass in a blur, once we got into the elevator. It seemed to take no time at all, to get to Hinata's room. She opened the door, and let the two of us stumble in, exhausted.

It took even less to collapse on her bed, Sasuke with me, and to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.

---

I woke, what I guessed was a few hours later, with Hinata hovering over me, worry in every plane of her face. Relief broke onto her face, and she yelled something over her shoulder to someone, before turning back to me.

"Hey, you're alive!"

"Urgh, hi. Barely," I muttered, my throat hoarse. It felt like I hadn't spoken in ages; in years, my throat was so dry. I needed something to drink.

"Water," I whispered, and Hinata nodded, and then there was a cup on my bedside. How this happened, I was never to know, but I grabbed the glass, feeling weak, and I gulped the contents gratefully.

And then I nearly choked, because it was Anko's continually nasty energy-replenishing tea. Shudders of disgust ran down my spine, and Hinata was grinning at me mirthfully.

"You should know better! It could have been poisoned, and now you would be dead!"

I rolled my eyes at her, the nasty taste lingering on my tongue, as she fed my own words back to me.

"You… are an _evil_ person, Hinata Hyuuga. Evil, evil, evil," I muttered, annoyed.

She smiled down at me. "At least you're alive for me to be evil to. You were pretty damn exhausted. Tsunade was worried that your body was going to shove you into a coma, or something crazy like that. And Sasuke's been freaking out ever since he woke up."

I was confused. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Two and a half days."

I gaped at her. "_No_ way. Are you kidding me?!"

"No, why would I kid about something like that?"

"Crap; and I promised myself Kabuto would be dead and in the ground before the week was out. Damn, I fail at life." I slammed my head into my pillow, hoping it would cause me some pain. I've never slept for more then a day, not in my memory, anyways.

I groaned, and forced myself to sit up.

My head spun, and I swayed woozily for a moment before the world settled into place. Obviously, my body wasn't quite ready to support itself as of yet. I stood there for a moment, and then I stretched as far as I could.

Several loud, very satisfying 'pops' later, and my spine was back in its normal shape. I yawned, and rolled my shoulders happily. I love it when my back is all straight and lovely and comfortable in its normal, un-pretzeled shape. I snapped my head to the side, and heard another satisfying 'crack'.

I looked around the room, slightly confused. "Where the hell am I, Hinata?"

She blinked. "Oh, we're in the infirmary. It's the other side from where your family was, that was the poisoning unit. We're in the Ward, right now."

I nodded, still slightly confused, but I was beginning to figure out what the hell was going on. The part of the infirmary was a large, circular room, with only one door, and only one bed, the one I had just been lying in. There were huge windows, and golden sunlight was filtering through them, tuning the entire place a warm, sunny golden colour that made me think of happiness. I was actually surprised I had slept so long, with this kind of sunlight all over the place.

"So… what now?" Hinata asked, after I finished cracking my neck in random places.

I shrugged. "There really is only one thing _to_ do."

"And that is?"

"Well, we finish what we started." I stared intensely at her. "Are you willing to come with me, and finish off killing that slimy git?"

She smiled; deadly humour on her face, something she'd picked up from Tenten or me, no doubt. "If by 'slimy git', you mean Kabuto, then I'm in. and I'm fairly certain the rest of everyone will be, too."

"We just have to talk Tsunade into letting us go."

We both winced, knowing that it wasn't going to be easy to do that. As far as Tsunade was concerned, she had her agents back. And there was no reason to endanger them, not for anything.

I winced as I thought it through. My hatred of going against orders was already rebelling in my body, screeching that it _refused_ to go against another order. "Well, as long as she doesn't order us _not_ to go…"

Hinata grinned at me. "I like the way you think."

I grinned back. "Thank you. So do I."

The two of us looked at each other and nodded, and headed out the door. And then I remembered that Kakashi and Anko were still alive. But, Sasuke…

"Hi-na-ta…"

She rolled her eyes. "Let's go find Sasuke first then. I know you want to see him."

I grinned hugely at her. "'Kay. Have Kakashi and Anko been here? Wait, are they even out of the infirmary?"

"Yup, they've been out for a day and a half. Kakashi really protested being in there, actually, which was why Tsunade let them go early. Apparently, he tore a bunch of IVs out of his arm to come and see you."

I shook me head. "That man is an idiot. Where _is_ Sasuke, by the way?"

Hinata shrugged. "Probably arguing with Tsunade about what to do about Kabuto. He'd been at her since he woke up, to let all of us go. She yelled at him. A lot."

"Why are boys so dumb?! Doesn't he realize that it would be _way_ easier just to _leave_?!"

"He's got more morals then you do, Sakura. And more tact. You're too blunt for your own good." And then a slow, evil smile spread over her face.

"Pffft, are we talking about the same Sasuke? 'Cuz I really don't think we are. The Sasuke _I_ know is an extremely ho-"

And then my air supply was cut off, as I was picked up, held in the air, and thoroughly kissed. Sasuke.

I blinked down at him. I'm really not used not being off the ground, it makes me feel kind of queasy. "Uhhh… hi. Could you put me down?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"_Hinata_!!!"

No answer. Damn, she'd left. So _this_ was what she'd been grinning about. He smirked up at me, kissed me again, and then _finally_ set me down.

"You are world-class asshole, did you know that?"

"Hn."

"Jerk, you know I hate monosyllabic answers," I muttered, and I cuddled into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me, and then pulled the both of us backward, until I felt a 'thump', as we hit the wall.

I peeked up at him. I really wanted to know a bunch of things. Like, really badly. "Hi."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "What?"

"Would you be willing to answer a bunch of really random questions?"

"That depends on the type of question, princess."

"_Please_ say yes? Please, please, please, please _ple-ase_?!"

He sighed in something like resignation, and I cheered loudly. "Fine, yes."

I smiled, an imitation of the previous evil one that belonged to Hinata. "What were you arguing about with Tsunade? Hinata said it was about Kabuto."

He rolled his eyes. "Ding ding, give the girl a prize."

"Hey, I'm asking a question here, I want an answer, _not sarcasm_!" I had an urge to kick him, but given the fact that neither of us in is any state to cause and/or feel pain, I decided against it. I'd kick him later.

"I told her that I wanted permission to go find him," he said.

"And she said?"

"No."

Frown. "Did she_ order_ you not to?"

Smirk. "No."

"So… are we going?"

"Yes."

Giggle. "Can we bring Hinata and Naruto and Neji and Tenten?"

Eye roll. "Yes."

Louder, evil giggle. "Ya-ay! When are we leaving?"

"As soon as you see your parents. Anko nearly broke my ribs when she hugged me."

I winced. If she had hugged _him_ that bad, I knew that I was going to be in for an extreme amount of undue pain, and then she'd give me 'The Lecture'. I knew I was in for an extreme amount of undue pain out of _love_, which actually kind of made it worse, now that I think about it. Then again, she might just tackle me, hug the life out of me, and then let Kakashi give me 'The Lecture'.

That would be kind of funny, considering Kakashi fails at administering punishment of any sort.

I nodded, and then we went to find Hinata and the others, our pinkies linked.

---

We found the others in really random places.

Hinata was in the Hyuuga lab, testing the green guck she'd collected. She didn't look very happy.

"Look at this! _Look at it_!"

"Uhhh… Hinata?"

She groaned, and rubbed her temples. She nodded towards the glowing green stuff, and I moved towards it warily. Sasuke was standing at the door, utterly _refusing_ to touch it, but I was kind of intrigued. Actually, the next time I looked, he'd ditched, obviously not wanting to intrude on what he called, with a shudder 'girl time'.

I mean, seriously, this stuff had supported suspended human animation. There was something about it that sent shivers, _good_ shivers, down my spine. I knew without knowing that it had the potential to save lives, and there was _nothing_ wrong with that, not in my eyes. Not even if it _was_ a leech invention.

"So what's the problem?"

"It's just that… well, look at the results." She pointed to a clip board across the room that I supposed she'd thrown there in her frustration, because she did _not_ look happy. I grabbed it, and scanned my eyes down the page.

Hinata narrated, too. I guess she knew the thing off by heart, and it was almost too dark to read in there, anyways.

"Basically, no matter what I do to it, the outcome is _always_ a poison. I can't even replicate it, not the green stuff _itself_, because the elements won't settle out, so I don't even know what it's _made_ of! And not only that, this poison -whatever the hell it is-, it's _dangerous_."

"Dangerous?" Interest coloured my voice, and I was fairly sure that nagging in the back of my head was my common sense, but I smacked it, and it shut up.

She rolled her eyes. "That's what you _would_ be interested in. Argh."

"Hi---na---ta, what does it do------o?" I asked her, my voice sing-song, elongating the vowels to almost unbearable levels.

"It's a killer, Sa---ku---ra," she replied, with another eye-roll.

I grinned hugely. "How potent?"

Hinata blinked, and I sensed that she was going into researcher-why-must-I-explain-simple-things-to-stupid-people-mode. "Well, the poison _itself_… it freezes the muscles, from what I've seen. I've tried it out on rats, but I'm not sure of the effects of humans… It might not do anything at all, but it just might be what we need."

"Why would we need it?"

"Do you know how much more efficient doing exorcisms would be? Soak a blade in it beforehand; give a vampire a tiny little cut with it, and then watch as the blood sucking thing basically freezes in its tracks."

"Efficient, huh?" I asked, an idea suddenly sparking in my mind. "Hinata, I have a very quick way to test this poison of yours. Want to try it out?"

She smiled, slow and dark-molasses-sweet; and I knew she'd be up for it. "So, darling, what do you have cooking in that evil little mind of yours?" she asked.

"Well, I was thinking… We're going to be out on a venture in a little bit, as you know, with a certain leech named Kabuto. I'm sure he'd _love_ to be a test subject."

Her smile grew. "Yes, and doesn't it make the perfect irony?"

I leaned against the counter, my back to the wall behind it, and I smiled _smile-smile-smile-like-a-tiger-hidden-in-the-grass_.

"Yes, Hinata, I should think it does."

---


	23. Chapter 23

Third-to-last chapter, guys!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?!?! Okay, I've had my moment. …I can_ not_ believe what I'm about to do to you all… and it's all because of Framing Hanley. Blame them. And Breaking Benjamin.

**Disclaimer**: Steal this plot, and I will hunt you down, and I will _KILL_ you. But Naruto doesn't belong to me.

**Dedication**: To **Music 1s my s0ul**, because she knows why I'm so unhappy. Sorry for bitching at you, girlie! I still love you!

---

It was dark, when we left.

I'd seen Anko and Kakashi, and they both seemed… better. So much better. Of course, the only time Kakashi actually let go of Anko was when she forced him to let her go, and she glomped Sasuke again, and then she glomped me (and broke every single one of my ribs, I think), and then the both of us had to sit through one of her Lectures.

That part was boring. But I'm used to Anko's touchy-feely-ness, so it doesn't really bother me anymore.

My ribs hurt, though.

And then Sasuke and I quietly slipped upstairs, while Anko made dinner, and, for the first time _ever_, Kakashi gave Sasuke his best I-am-her-father-touch-her-and-die-fear-me glare. I think that's not only the first time he'd ever used it, not just on Sasuke, but in his entire life.

When Sasuke and I were alone, afterwards, after dinner, when Kakashi and Anko had gone out, I howled with laughter, because, really, it was _about damn time_! He just growled, and shoved his hands in his pockets (a true feat, considering how tight his pants were… …Drool), and then he scowled at the floor.

I had an urge to pull an Anko, and throw myself at him. Part of me (a small, but very _loud_ part) wanted to squash it into the ground, and stomp on it. The other part of me (the large, _also_ very loud part) wanted me to give into said urge.

I went with the majority, and jumped on him.

He turned red, but he still managed to catch me. I'll never figure out _how_ he managed it though, because one second, his hands were in his pockets, and then the next, they were around my waist.

I still made him topple over, and the two of us hit my bed with a soft thump.

What surprised me was how close Sasuke had pulled me, to keep me from hitting anything that might hurt me. My nose was pressed into his chest, and when I breathed, I got a nose-ful of the signature scent that was Sasuke. There was Axe, spicy soap, and then something that was just _Sasuke_.

So… yummy… I nearly _died_, he smelled so good.

He kissed the top of my head very gently, his lips pressing against my bubble-gum-coloured (haven I mentioned how much I hate that description?) hair and I tilted my head up, and blinked at him.

"Hi."

"Hiya."

We just looked at each other for a minute, his eyes so dark and dangerous _like-a-wild-animal-so-very-very-untamed_, and then I remembered something.

"Sasuke, what were you and Kaeleo talking about? Just after you'd woken up, and he was being all Kaeleo-ish?" In my mind, 'Kaeleo' had become synonymous with 'asshole'.

He blinked at me, almost _sheepishly_, and I knew he was going to lie to me. I didn't know _how_ I knew it, but I did. "It's nothing you need to worry about."

I glared at him. "If it's nothing I need to worry about, then you can tell me, can't you?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"_Please_?!"

"It's _nothing_, Sakura." The harshness in his voice wasn't something I was used to, and I pulled away from him, slightly shocked. And slightly hurt, to tell the truth.

The hurt intensified when he said "It's better if you don't know."

I closed my eyes, and pulled farther away from him. Obviously, I wasn't someone he wanted to tell his problems. Obviously, I wasn't very important at all. I let out a bitter chuckle, as I remembered a few more of his choice words, always the ones that hurt me the most.

"You still don't want anything to do with me, huh? You'll kiss me, but you won't even look me in the eye." I threw them back in his face, the hurt raging in my chest.

He looked taken aback. "No, Sakura, that's not what I-"

I cut him off. "Yes, that is what you meant."

And then I pulled off of him completely, and forced myself to leave the room. My heart was pounding in my chest, full of something like grief, and I felt like I couldn't breathe. How had that argument gotten so out of control so fast?

I slipped into the bathroom, and I locked the door. I curled up into the corner, and wrapped my arms around my knees, pulling them to my chest. Heavy sobs wracked my body, but I forced myself not to make a sound.

It took me a full half-hour to calm down.

I pushed the door open, or at least I tried. There was something pressed against the door from the outside that was stopping me from getting out.

So I forced it.

Really, what did you expect me to do? I don't like the feeling of being trapped, to be honest. It's kind of scary.

But there was Sasuke, standing in front of me, and I wanted to kick him _so badly_, it physically hurt. How can he have this on me, this constant hold on my emotions? It's so unfair…

"Sakura?" Sasuke's voice came, and I was shocked to hear how depressed it sounded. But I reminded myself that I'd been crying for the past half-hour, and that it was _his_ fault.

"Move, Sasuke, I need to go pack."

"Not until you listen."

I pushed past him, feeling the previous hurt well up in my chest, and I totally ignored him. I didn't want to look at him right now, or I might start crying.

I slipped back into my bedroom, and slammed the door shut behind me. If he came in after me, there would be _severe_ repercussions, starting with the fact that I may very well never speak to him again.

I heard him shuffle outside the door, and then sigh, and then sit down. I didn't know what to think of it, but I lay on my bed, and I let some more tears work their way out of my body. They wanted out, and who was I to stop them?

After I finished silently crying for a good bit of time, I went and started packing my things. I grabbed a single shirt, and a single pair of jeans, stuffed them into the bottom of my bag, and then I pushed my closet open, and then tried to decide which guns to bring.

I didn't realize Sasuke had slipped into my room until his arms were around my waist, his body behind mine, and I was pressed against the wall. Bastard.

He rested his head on my shoulder, and I could feel his breath against my throat and my ear. It made me shudder. "Get off of me, Sasuke. I'm not in the mood."

"I'm sorry."

My mouth tightened. "Sorry doesn't cut it."

"Then what will?"

I hardened my heart to the pleading in his perfect _so-perfect-perfect-perfect-that-it-hurts_ voice, and forced myself to shake my head. "I don't even know right now. Just go away."

"If I tell you, will that help?"

"No. It's the principle of the thing, Sasuke. Maybe later, when we've both calmed down," I said.

"Fine," he whispered, his voice low and broken. He let go of my stiff body, his long fingers lingering sadly on my waist, before disappearing altogether. I winced when the door slammed shut as he left.

It was all I could do stay standing. In the end, that ended up being too much for me, and I slid down the wall, my hair obscuring the rest of the room from my view.

Oh my god, what have I done?

---

It took me another half-hour (and skin-tight, black clothes) to pull myself together. I found some concealer sitting in a dusty corner of my bathroom cabinet, and I swiped some under my eyes, to cover up the tell-tale signs _the-red-eye-rims-the-bloodshot-eyes-the grubby cheeks-the-tear-tracks-all covered-up-and-hidden-away_ of tears.

I didn't want Sasuke knowing that he could hurt me so badly without even trying. And I think that if he had stayed, I might have forgiven him. But he didn't.

And that was the worst thing he could have done. He left.

I shook my head, and tucked a stray hair behind my ear, just as the phone rang. I knew without knowing that it would be Hinata, wondering where the hell we were. She would be wondering where the hell _I_ was, because right now, I don't even think there _is_ a 'we',

"Hello?" I said, my voice perfectly normal. Or, at least, I hoped it was.

"What's happened?"

"Damn it Hinata, could you please be _less_ observant?! Just for _once_?!" Apparently, my lying skills weren't as good as I thought.

"You wish. Now tell me what happened with Sasuke."

"How do you know it's because of him?!"

Her voice took on an why-am-I-explaining-complicated-things-to-stupid-people-again? tone. "Because he showed up at Naruto's apartment like, two minutes ago? And he looked like he was about to break something. And the only person that can get under Sasuke's skin is _you_. So I called you, and there is _very definitely_ something wrong here. So what happened?"

I sighed, and relayed the story.

"You two are fighting over something that _stupid_?!"

"It's not stupid! I asked a question, and he freaked out at me!"

"Sakura, he might not have told you simply because he really didn't want you to worry. Have you not noticed that Sasuke does everything he bloody well can to stop you from hurting?"

I was silent. She was right.

"You're being selfish," and I knew she was not only right, she was dead serious. "Sakura, if Sasuke thinks you're better off without him, _he will leave_. You should know that by now. After tonight's mission, corner him, and apologize."

I started to protest, but for once, _she_ cut _me_ off. "I don't _care_ what it'll do to your ego. It'll devastate both you, and Naruto. _I'll_ be affected, too, indirectly, because my two best friends will be miserable. Don't be stupid."

She paused for a second, as if contemplating her next words. "And hurry your ass up, you're holding us up. We're outside your front door."

And then the phone line went dead. I stared down at the phone, utterly flabbergasted.

Hinata grew some balls. Damn, I'd have to be careful around her from now on, because I think I'm actually slightly scared of that temper of hers.

I grabbed my bag, took a deep breath, and went downstairs, and opened the door, just as the doorbell rang.

The others were all standing there, Hinata and Tenten at the front. There was concern shining in both of their eyes, and I knew that despite Hinata's forced harshness, she really was worried about me.

I couldn't see Sasuke anywhere. My heart fell.

But then I caught a flash of pale skin, even paler in the darkness, and I took a breath of relief. He wasn't gone yet. I still had a chance to fix this.

I _refused_ to fuck it up again.

"Are you ready to go?" Tenten asked.

"Yeah," I muttered with a nod.

"Good, you're riding with Hinata and I. We need some boy-free-time right now. I've had my stupidity gauge full for today."

I nodded, a smile slowly etching itself onto my lips. I looked at Hinata, and tilted my head. She just smiled back sadly, and I knew she wasn't mad at me.

God, life really sucks.

So the three of us slipped into the Viper (because I'm not letting Sasuke drive it without me _in_ it), and I slipped the keys into the ignition.

The questions started as soon as we left the driveway.

"Are you _crazy_?"

"Did he see you cry?"

"_Are you crazy_?!"

"Did _he_ cry?"

"_ARE YOU CRAZY_?!?!"

I winced. "I wasn't expecting the Spanish Inquisition…"

Hinata and Tenten went quiet, and I knew that they were looking at each other, deadpanned. "NO ONE EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!!!" they both screeched at me, and I winced again, this time at the volume of their voices.

"I walked right into that one…"

"Yes, you did. Now tell us."

I sighed. "Fine. The answers to your questions in order: no, probably, no, god I hope not, and _no_, Hinata, I am _not_ crazy!"

It went silent in the car for a minute, before Tenten voiced the unasked question. "How do you _do_ that? That remembering-every-question thing?"

I shrugged, and watched the speedometer inch past a-hundred-and-forty kilometers an hour. Speed was the only thing keeping me sane right at this moment, and I still didn't feel very good.

I wanted Sasuke. But I knew that right now, I couldn't have him, as much as I wanted him. But even if I couldn't have him, he was still _mine_.

It was silent in the car as I drove and drove (Hinata and Tenten had passed out a while ago… good for them, the more sleep they can get now, the better), and I had time to wonder what Sasuke was thinking. It also gave me time to go over the whole situation in my head, over and over and over again.

It was a fucking train wreck, now that I think about it. You wanted to look away, wanted _so badly_ to look away, but it was _so_ damn twisted, that it was totally impossible.

My knuckles were white on the steering wheel when I looked next, and I reluctantly loosened my grip.

The street lights flashed over my face _flash-flash-flash-bright-dark-bright-dark-bright-dark_ and I took another deep breath. The building where we were headed was the same one where we'd found the adults.

It seemed best to start there. Of course, if Kabuto was smart, he would have left the country. And we knew that.

But Kabuto doesn't seem like a street-smart sort of person (actually, he seemed like that really annoying know-it-all that everyone wants to punch…), and, taking a guess, he probably wants to take all his equipment with him.

Because seriously, there was some _expensive_ stuff in that room, trashed suspended-animation jars aside. There was a _reason_ Hinata had nearly been drooling while she collected that green guck.

I flicked my gaze down to the acid-green pill Hinata had given me. She told me to shove it into his mouth, if I could, but any other open, gaping wound would work, too. Apparently, she'd also soaked a couple of my knives (the ones that were currently holding my hair back from my face), in it as well, and so I'd taken extra care when handling them.

After all, we still didn't know what sort of effect they'd have on humans. And if it turned out to be a hell of a lot more potent, and therefore more dangerous, to humans, then I would have to be very, very careful.

I parked in the fairly empty parking lot, but I knew I needed to let loose a little bit.

So I drifted it, shoved the e-break backwards and forwards, and smiled at the tires' high-pitched, _loud_, squeal. It woke both Tenten and Hinata, each shrieking, obviously not used to the sounds a car makes when it's being misused.

Seriously, I've killed three e-breaks (not to mention several clutches, two gas pedals, and more breaks then I can count) in this poor thing already. Kakashi should just give up, and let me have it already.

As the car drifted to a halt, in _perfect_ alignment with the yellow-paint parking strips on the asphalt, I smiled, and tossed my bangs back. I looked at Hinata and Tenten in the rearview mirror, and was fairly amused to see them clutching each other, terrified ofr their lives.

"What, you guys have seriously never been drifting before?"

The squeaked "No's!" told me that they'd obviously never been in a car when Sasuke was driving.

No, damn it, don't think about him. It'll just make things more difficult. I shook my head to myself, and unclipped my seatbelt, and got out of the car.

---

The boys got out, and we the six of us congregated right next to the Viper. My heart clenched when Naruto very carefully curled Hinata into him, and Neji and Tenten weren't even subtle about touching each other.

I couldn't even look at Sasuke.

So I was a little startled when I felt his pinky link through mine. I shot my gaze up to his, terrified about what I was going to see. Was he going to finish whatever the hell it is we have? Or… or…?

He just mouthed 'I'm sorry', an apology clear in his eyes. I blinked, shocked. Why was _he_ apologizing? He didn't have anything to apologize for. He wasn't the one who was being a crazy, possessive, paranoid bitch.

Well, I'm kind of _always_ a crazy, possessive, paranoid bitch, but that was kind of over the top. I took yet _another_ deep breath, and I managed a small, sardonic smile.

"So, are we going to go?"

"Yes, I should think we are."

And so we went into the gold-black-and-white building _three-colours-of-nothing-threading-through-each-other-like-a-sick-sick-_sick_-joke_, pushing on the revolving door to let ourselves in.

The leech from before, Charlotte, I think her name was, was sitting at the front desk, filing her nails. She raised her eyes to us.

"'Bout damn time you showed up to finish the job. Father's been going crazy. Could you please make it quick? I need to feed."

I glared at her, glared at the implication in her words. "Which floor?"

"Thirteenth. But I suggest you watch yourselves. Father's got some traps set up along the way."

I blinked at her, suspicious, just as I knew the others were. "You helped us last time, too. Why?"

She looked down at her nails, all painted eye-watering red-orange _different-then-Naruto's-bright-orange-much-bloodier_. "Well, considering I _hate_ him, why shouldn't I?"

"Fine, we'll see you later."

She smiled at us, and then went back to her nails. Once we were out of earshot, Hinata whispered "Let's take that advice with a grain of salt, shall we?"

All of us nodded, and Naruto slipped an arm around her waist, and murmured something in her ear that made her turn red. A smirk, so very, very reminiscent of Sasuke - I could see how they were best friends- flitted across his lips, and Hinata, still red as a beet, kicked him.

"Wow, they're turning into _us_." I muttered to Sasuke, and he let out a snort.

"Yeah, but you never blush, and my smirk's cooler then that." He said, and, just to prove it, he smirked.

I rolled my eyes. "You're so full of yourself."

"Yup," he said, and his smirk turned into a grin.

I rolled my eyes again, and we stood in front of the elevator doors, and waited for it to ding, and open up, and let us in, and take us up to the top floor, and to let us kill Kabuto.

Well, it _did_ ding, and it _did_ open up. But out of the thing poured _leeches_. Lots of them. Too many of them.

I heard Hinata shriek in anger, but it was lost in the sudden onslaught.

Sasuke was at my back, and while I turned a _really_ ugly leech to Swiss cheese behind him, he slammed the slender katana he seemed to like using into the leech that was just about to claw my stomach out.

He grabbed my wrist, and pulled me up against a wall, and then towards the stairs. I went with him, because I knew it would be easier to kill them in an enclosed space.

Or maybe not. Sasuke picked me up, and tossed me over his shoulder (_damn_ him!), and he raced up the stairs.

"What are you _doing_?! They _need_ us!!!"

"No, they'll be _fine_, princess. They've all been trained to deal with situations like these, and Naruto and Hyuuga have been fighting longer then they've been able to walk."

It took me a second to realize he meant Neji, not Hinata.

"And don't you want to end this thing with Kabuto yourself?"

I clenched my jaw, and nodded into his back. He put me down soon after that, and we slowed to a walk, both wary of what the slimy git might have thought up. Kabuto was flat-out, totally, completely, abso-fucking-lutely crazy, and seriously, underestimating crazies really hasn't helped me in the past.

"Yeah, I kind of do."

"That's what I thought."

We walked up another flight of stairs. I didn't even know how many that had been now, but if there's one good thing about this stairwell, it's that every sound made echoes. If any door opens, or anything above or below us moves, we'll know.

This is good, because it'll be almost impossible to surprise us.

"How high are we?" I asked, my voice soft, unsure. I still didn't know whether I should pounce on him, or slap him across the face.

"One more flight."

I nodded, and concentrated on anything except the fact that the stairwell was _saturated_ with the scent that came with being around Sasuke Uchiha. And yes, I mean the mind-numbing-it's-so-amazing scent. Yes, that one. I could barely think.

Once we reached the top floor, I pushed the stairwell door open, and we walked into the highest-floor corridor.

It was different then the other one, two floors down. It was more luxurious, considering it was the pent-house level. There was only one room on this level.

And I knew, without a doubt, that Kabuto would be hiding behind it; the slimy little bug-boy. He was too much of a coward to come out and face me like a man, and so I'd have to go and be the heroine, and face him myself.

We walked all the way down the hall, and we stopped in front of a huge pair of double doors. "Sasuke?" I asked, as he took a strange breath, like he was about to say something important.

"Sakura, Kaeleo wants Kabuto dead. I don't blame him, but I'm leaving the git's death up to you. Can I just call rights to checking his body?"

"Why? He'll turn to ash, just like the rest."

Sasuke looked grim. "That's what Kaeleo and I were discussing. We don't think he will."

I looked at him, shocked out of my mind. If Kabuto didn't turn to ash, then that meant he had found a way to… to almost _re-humanify_ himself. I shuddered. That was a _creepy_ thought.

"Alright, I'm cool with it."

He carefully slipped an arm around my waist, wary that I might push him away. I didn't, and for a half-second, I curled into him. I pressed my lips against his pulse, the continuous beat of his heart calming my own, which was currently racing _please-please-please-don't-die-on-me-me-me_.

I pulled away from him, far enough that I could think, but he didn't let me go, and I was so grateful for it. I had a feeling that my knees would give out, if he wasn't holding me up.

He looked down at me, and whispered "Damn it, I'm worried about those idiots…"

I looked up at him, and smiled softly. "I'll be alright. I always am. Just don't die on me, okay?"

He looked at me, confused, and I drew myself out of his arms. "Go take care of Naruto, and I'll finish up here. We'll meet downstairs later, alright?"

He nodded very, very slowly, unwilling to let me go on my own, but we both knew this was something I needed to do. I had more issues with Kabuto then he did, and after the bastard was dead, then nothing would matter. As long as he _stayed_ dead, nothing would matter.

A feeling of dread washed over me, as Sasuke walked away. My eyes didn't leave him until he was out of my sight, and there was a feeling in the pit of my stomach that told me not to expect much.

The taste of dread still thick on my tongue, I walked closer to the doors. I was just about to reach for the handle on one when they swung outward of their own volition, and in I went.


	24. Chapter 24

Second-to-last chapter. You all are seriously going to hate me. Seriously. It's a deadly cliff.

**Disclaimer:** Mine when the sun rises in the east.

**Dedication:** To Pandastacia, 'cuz she's awesome like that. Also to 'The Medic Droid'. Sniffle. I miss you…

---

The room stank of old blood and dirt and some nasty fungus. I delicately wrinkled my nose at it, and pretended that it didn't bother me. It was dark, and I couldn't really see anything in the gloom. I wanted to snarl, and light a match, but I didn't.

If only because that's the way this works.

"Ka-buto, Ka-buto, where a-re you?" I half-sung into the blackness, and, to my delight, light sprung up in the form of torches along the walls. They left patches of thick blackness, but they gave off enough flickering light to see by. The ceiling was still obscured by thick, black miasma, but I knew it was there.

It was a long, rectangular room, and the flames extinguished just short of the far end, where I knew, I just _knew_, that Kabuto was hiding. He was probably curled up in a corner, pretending he was cool.

I shot a glance up at the dark, high ceiling. What the hell is it with leeches and really high ceilings?! It is just me, or is that just not normal? And how come the buildings always look _way_ bigger from the inside than is possible from how they are on the outside?

I dislike disproportionate things. They're very… unsettling.

The walls, too, were very strange. They were covered in almost Egyptian carvings, and I suddenly felt like we were in tomb, ancient, and that had been closed for eons. I shuddered in distaste. The creep's choice of décor was a just a _little_ bit over the top.

"Ka-buto, where a-re you?" I called again into the darkness, and this time instead of light as my answer, there was a soft, musical hiss.

I smiled into the darkness.

"Hello, little one, how have you been?"

And then the dark end where I knew Kabuto would be lightened, and there he was. He was sitting on an almost-throne, a little bit too simple to be called a throne entirely, and a little bit too grand to be called a chair. His head was bowed, his greasy white hair falling over his face, so I couldn't see his eyes. His hands were held Mr. Burns-style, his fingers tapping _tap-tap-tapping_ against each other.

My body wanted to scream and shudder and slam a knife into him, but I knew I wouldn't be that lucky. "Oh, I've been good. Anko says hello."

There was going to be a very long, very _annoying_ fight here. I pulled out one of the daggers in my hair surreptitiously, and I was happy when it didn't make a sound. I knew that the way I had positioned them in my hair was very, very dangerous _for_ my hair. If I moved too fast when I pulled them out, I would have chopped off basically every bit of hair I had.

He still didn't look up. "Ah, I should have known she would have. You take after her."

"Of course I do. Tell me, why _did_ you pick Anko?"

But, if I had the chance to take them out slowly, they wouldn't make a sound. The weird little twist was courtesy of Hinata. Thank you, Hinata!

I stood there, dagger in one hand, gun in the other, and I knew that I could kill him right now. I could shoot him through the head with a bullet. If I threw the dagger just so, I could hit one of his veins. Of course, as vampires don't seem to _bleed_, it wouldn't do much.

But Sasuke had said that Kabuto had re-humanified himself. If he had, then he _would_ bleed. If he hadn't, then he would _still_ turn to dust, bullet or knife, take your pick.

But I _did_ promise Hinata I'd try out that poison for her.

Kabuto looked up at me, hatred shining in his eyes. From here, I could see that the bruises on his neck, from when I'd nearly crushed his windpipe, were still there.

"Simple, really. It was revenge."

I snorted. "Revenge, really? I should have killed you when I had the chance."

"Yes, you should have. After you're dead, I'm going to drink you dry. Did you know that, little one?"

"You _wish_."

"It's not a wish. It will happen. But I must thank you, Sakura."

"Oh, and why is that?" I said amicably.

This is the way we play. I'll taunt you, you'll taunt me, but don't let me get behind you, because you know I hate you and I'll kill you if given the chance.

"Because, this is the best revenge I could have asked for. Little Anko won't be very happy when she finds out that her only daughter is dead."

I snorted again. "Puh-lease. If you think you can kill me, you've got another thing coming."

"It's the most perfect revenge. After your dead, I'll leave the place. And Anko will suddenly understand what it's like to lose one's most precious person."

"You really need some better lines. Cry me a river, build me a bridge, and _get over it_."

Kabuto snarled, and I smiled dangerous at him.

There was a flurry of movement, and then we were fighting, moving fast, dancing in and out and in and out, trying to get close enough to kill the other, but never managing it. Kabuto didn't need weapons; he had fangs and sharpened-to-points nails.

It gave me both an advantage and a disadvantage. He had more control over his limbs, giving him better accuracy, but me, I had weapons that gave me longer reach.

"She killed the one person I would have died for!" Kabuto's eyes were lit with a crazy light that I _really_ didn't like. It was creepy.

"Do you _blame_ her?! He would have changed her!" I spat at him, the slight fear that was in my chest grabbing hold of my throat, and raising the pitch to an unbearable level.

"It was an _honour_ to have been chosen for that. Orochimaru-sama was a _god_."

"You are _insane_." I punctuated the last word with a bullet that purposefully went whizzing past his ear. I don't want him to die just yet.

I swore as I barely managed to duck in time as his hand went sailing by my face. As it was, two of his nails caught my cheek and tore the skin there open. The bastard was trying to rip my eyes out! I hissed, jumped backward as far as I could, and shot him in the leg.

He screamed in pain as the magicked bullet tore through his flesh. I smiled sadistically, and got close enough to slam my dagger into his side.

I let go of it, and raced backwards. I didn't care about it; it was only one dagger, and it Kabuto wanted to use it, and kill his advantage, then fine, I was totally up for that. I still had another three in my hair, and I pulled the second one, slowly, out while he was distracted with getting the dagger I'd just shoved in his side out of his body.

He didn't bleed. Damn, how annoying. That meant he was still leech-ish enough that he would burst into flames and ash, and I could watch and 'ooh and ahh' as much as I wanted, like spectators at a fireworks show.

"Oh, Kabu-chan, by the way, what did you do to the leeches on the outskirts of town?"

Then we were fighting again, my knife clashing against the one that had _previously_ been mine. He obviously didn't know what to do with it, and I managed to slash along his leg.

"You mean my little children? I just gave them an… _advantage_."

I scowled at him. "That's not very nice, did you know?"

He lunged at me, and I twisted myself -with something that could _almost_ be considered grace- out of the way. He hit the ground for a second time, dropping the knife. It went spinning off into the darkness. I smiled slowly as he got up, panting.

"You're not used to fighting for long periods of time, are you _Kabu-chan_? I wonder how long you'll last."

He snarled, his face a twisted mask of hatred, and he charged at me, his claws pointed straight for my throat. I laughed, and got out of the way.

'Course, I wasn't getting out of this unscathed, and I knew that as soon as I felt his claws raking across my back. It stung like a bitch, and I wanted to screech, but I didn't voice the scream that was hiding in my throat.

I wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

It was then that I knew that this fight was serious, when there was blood dripping down my right shoulder, from where he'd broken through the skin. He hadn't shredded my clothes, somehow, but I knew that one of us was going to die.

He came flying at me again, and I got out of the way, ducking my head, and shoving my body hard against his, and scoring his back twice more.

Down he went.

My breathing was laboured, but his was worse. He was getting tired. I smiled, and whipped the sweat from my forehead.

He forced himself up, but his movements were strange, slow, almost like he was moving through liquid, or jelly. It was then that I realized what Hinata's poison did to leeches.

It froze their muscles.

I smiled, and moved towards him. I danced around his backside as fast as I could; leaving knife slashes up and down his arms as I went. Whatever the poison was, it worked fast, and his muscles were freezing faster and faster, as I shoved more poison into his body.

I smiled happily at him, and he sent me a glare so fierce, anyone else would have withered and died. But I'm kind of immune to glares like that. I mean, come one, I'm… doing something (dating?) with _Sasuke_.

I stood in front of him, having done a full circle, and I just looked at him, slightly disgusted, as he swayed where he stood, his body rigid. He couldn't move, not even if he wanted to.

I reached one hand out, extended one finger, and gave him a very light push.

Kabuto went toppling backwards, and hit the floor with a 'thud'. That sounded like it had to have hurt. I knelt down next to his body, and watched as the poison Hinata had so wonderfully concocted froze his body. His eyes were flicking back and forth frantically between his already half-frozen eye-lids.

Apparently, that's the way the poison works. They eyes always freeze last. Wow, that's a sadistic little twist, isn't it?

I smiled slowly, the crazy little five-year-old's sadism getting the better. "Do you want me to end it?"

He was probably trying (and failing miserably, for that matter) to shake his head. But, since he could neither move nor speak, I took his forced silence as a yes.

"That's what I thought."

I stood up, and looked down at my favorite handgun. The metal shone sickly in the firelight, looking green and dangerous. I leveled it at his head in grim satisfaction.

"See you in hell," I murmured softly.

And then, with the gun pointed straight between the slimy bastard's eyes, I pulled the trigger.

---

He shuddered as the bullet impacted, but, strangely enough, he didn't make the gargling sound, nor did he burst into flames and turn to ash.

I watched coldly as his body slowly began to crumble. Literally, it was like he was an ancient, dead, mummified being exposed to light and wind, and his flesh began to fall away. Disgusting.

Maybe it was because Sasuke was right, and Kabuto had tried to make himself human. But personally, I think it was because of whatever was in that poison. It must have slowed the process of the magic, must have kept him alive longer, long enough for him to really feel what it was like to die.

I'd have to thank Hinata later. She'd really made my day, not to mention making this whole fight-thing a hundred times easier.

I spun around on my heel, and headed for the door, a sugar-sweet smile on my lips. I paused though, when my hand was on the knob, and I turned around, and looked at Kabuto's still crumbling body. There was almost nothing left of him. I allowed myself a victory smile, and then I slammed the door behind me as I left.

Sasuke was right outside, in the glossy marble hallway, leaning against the glossy marble wall, a sardonic smirk on his perfect _perfect-perfect-so-perfect-that-it-hurts-to-look-at-him_ lips. He looked so calm, so cool, even though his white shirt was stained red in places.

I knew it could only be his blood, because leeches did not bleed. I glared at him, worry and annoyance probably clear on my face.

Sasuke is not a colourful person, and red really doesn't suit his complexion. And I'm honestly surprised he got hurt at all. He normally had something against letting a leech pull one over on him.

I walked over to him, and I reached out and grabbed a fistful of his white-and-red _white-and-red-and-white-and-red-and-white-and-red-and-white-tainted-white_ shirt, and I watched him wince. I could feel my colour draining away as he grinned guiltily at me. Had he not even taken care of his own cuts and bruises?

I snarled unintelligibly at him, but he understood what I wanted. He pulled his shirt off, wincing with each movement he made, and I was presented with the most horrifying thing I'd ever seen.

A sickly purple-yellow-green _the-colour-of-clouds-before-a-twister-purple-yellow-green_ bruise was forming across his chest, from his left pectoral, all the way up to his left shoulder. There was a gash across his stomach, shallow but bleeding profusely, and very, very long, from his right hip, to just below where the bruise started.

That was the major things, not to mention the other cuts and bruises that probably lined his shoulders and arms and back.

I swore loudly. "Why didn't you get fixed up?! Are you fucking crazy?!"

His breathing was soft and shallow with pain. "I had to get back up here to you."

I shook my head, touched, as I shrugged off my outer shirt. I pulled the other two knives out of my hair, and dropped one of them to the ground. With the other, I started slicing my shirt into long, wrap-able strips.

When I finished, I just glared soundlessly at him, and he raised his arms enough to let me attack the cuts and bruises and wrap them up. I knew he wouldn't die, not when he was wrapped up like this, but we still needed to get him to a hospital, or else he'd bleed out, and then we'd _both_ be fucked.

I'm not losing him. Not now.

"What the hell happened? This couldn't have been just from the leeches down there. You're better then that, and we both know it."

He winced. "There was something about those vampires. They were faster then normal vampires."

"It was like... no, nevermind, I'll tell you later."

Just as we were about to leave, there was a long, high-pitched screech that made me clap my hands over my ears, and then there was a loud, crashing rumble. As it ended, I watched spider-wed cracks run along the length of the marble floor.

"…_Shit_," Sasuke hissed, and he grabbed my wrist.

Then we were running down staircase after staircase, me shaking (and thinking that it was a hell of a lot easier to go _down_ stairs then _up_), Sasuke probably in undeserved pain, and everything seemed to blur as we bolted past.

I didn't see the others anywhere, but I hoped they were safe.

We got out the front doors, just as black and white and gold flashes of light began to conglomerate into a huge ball.

"What the hell _is_ that?" I hissed, awed and slightly terrified. There was just something about the way it almost pulsed, almost spun, _around-and-around-and-around-like-a-beach-ball-in-the-summertime_ that made me want to touch it.

For once, my common sense won out, and I drew away from the still growing ball of light _light-made-of-liquide-made-of-light-made-of-liquid-made-of-light_.

Sasuke and I looked up at the huge ball of black-white-gold light _black-light-doesn't-make-sense-sense-sense-not-at-all_, and I whispered into the icy air "The chains that hold the world together are beginning to fall apart, Sasuke."

He turned his face towards mine, and caught my eye. "So what, princess?" he asked with a dangerous smile.

"So we're all going to _die_ is what, you stupid bastard," I murmured softly, regret taking my voice to lows that I'd rarely reached.

"Princess, I have you now. I'm never going to let you go, death or not," he replied just as softly, albeit a bit more… strong, a bit more lasting, then mine was.

And I looked at him. In the face of this huge ball of dark light (oh, I _like_ that oxymoron… Wait, what am I _thinking_?! We're about to _die_), I really _looked_ at him. I looked at the dark hair, the pale skin, the perfect lips, and the unswervingly straight nose. I let my eyes trace the planes of his face, and then I looked him in the eye.

I always saved his eyes for last.

The so-empty-they're-full onyx orbs stared back at me, and I _knew_. I knew what he'd been thinking this entire time. Damn. Why had I never _looked_ at him like this before? '_Because you were afraid of what you were going to _see, _you_ _dumb bitch_' a voice in the back of my head lilted.

I let the little voice gloat for a bit, and then I kicked it out of my head. There should be no one in my head, no one _except me_. I didn't know how Sasuke could have ever stood having Kaeleo in his head; it must have been hell.

We stood there, and stared up at the huge, still-growing ball of light. It was mottled, black and white and gold, but while the colours swirled around each other, they never seemed to mix, never seemed to become one.

It was so bright.

And I reached for Sasuke's hand, of my own volition, and curled my fingers around his. I didn't want to be alone anymore.

His fingers twined through mine, and for a second, pure, undiluted joy raced through my veins as he mouthed the words "I love you".

"I love you, too," I mouthed back, and I was shocked to see how light his eyes got, even though they were always so very dark.

Then there was a flash of light _black-white-black-white-black-white-in-equal-measure_, and I didn't think anymore.


	25. Chapter 25

Last chapter. Omigod, hyperventilating. Written entirely to Breaking Benjamin's Rain. It just seemed appropriate.

**Disclaimer:** Naruto does not belong to me.

**Dedication:** To everyone who ever reviewed. You guys just make me so happy. I love you.

---

I opened my eyes a long time later. I knew it was a long time because of the way my body felt - stiff, tired, and _really_ protesting the fact that I was moving. I panicked when my muscles protested, actually. I wasn't used to _hurting_ this much.

My lids flickered, unhappy with the fact that there was _light_ filtering through the windows, and I sighed as I mentally checked where I was.

I was in a bed, in a circular, golden-from-the-sunlight-room, with thick, filmy white curtains over the windows. The ceiling was low and domed, but not constricting, and I suddenly felt slightly calmer. It didn't last long, though, once I _did_ figure out where I was.

How the hell did I get into the infirmary?

Seriously, my last memory was a flash of light. I winced as I tried to move. My body, my muscles, normally so sure of themselves, screamed in protest.

But I'm a stupid bitch, and I forced myself to sit up. My world spun _around-and-around-like-strobe-lights-at-a-night-club_, and I started coughing. I could feel the blood in my mouth, and I spat it out. I let my body fall back into the mattress.

The disgust was thick on my tongue. God, I felt _weak_. I _hate_ feeling weak.

I forced myself up a second time, and this time, the world stayed the way it was supposed to.

"Hello?" I called out softly, my voice hoarse from disuse, and echoing in the domed room. My voice came hurtling back at me from a hundred directions _hello?-hello-hello-hello?-hello…_, and I wondered if this room had been made for the simple purpose of driving someone insane.

Then the door snapped open, and Hinata and Tenten came zooming in, relief thick on both of their features.

"Thank fucking god you're alright!" Tenten said, as she threw herself down on the bed next to me, just as Hinata, always the lady, sat herself down, folded her hands, and smiled like there was no tomorrow.

"How long have I been out?"

Hinata shook her head. "Long enough that Anko's been freaking out. Long enough that _Tsunade's_ been freaking out."

I stared at her, eyes wide. The one time Tsunade had started worrying had been when crazy Gai hadn't woken up for two weeks.

"How _long_, Hinata?" My voice went shrill as I said 'long'.

She winced. "Thirteen days."

I felt my mouth twist up in a broken smirk. There was something bothering me, too, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was… "Damn, that long, huh? So what's happened while I've been out?"

"Well, Neji and Naruto and Shikamaru have been out along the outskirts, keeping more then a few rebellions down," said Tenten.

"And Tsunade told me that Kurenai's baby is safe. Whatever it was that Kabuto did to her didn't have lasting effects. Well, we hope, anyways. The baby might either be totally useless as a hunter, or she might be better then you and Sasu-" Hinata's eyes widened as she started to say his name.

_That's_ what it was. "Hinata, what happened to Sasuke?!"

"Shit, no, Sakura, you really, _really_ don't want to know."

"I think I do!" My voice was a shrill whisper that tore through the filmy curtains like an icy breeze, and I felt my do a weird convulsion that could be considered a morbid flutter. And all I could think was 'Oh, _god_, Sasuke, please _don't_ be dead…'

Tenten sighed in exasperation. "Damn it Hinata, tell her. She has a right to know. And if you won't, I will. And I'll make it blunt, and _way_ more straightforward. And therefore more painful."

Hinata groaned, miserable. "Well, he's not… he's not as bad as he could be."

Tenten narrowed her eyes, and I gulped. Not good. "Don't fucking sugarcoat it, Hinata. She deserves to know the truth."

Hinata closed her eyes, and turned her face away. "He's stable, but he's in a coma. And no, he's not dead, but Tsunade's worried that he might not be going to wake up. Ever."

Tenten sat back, grimly mollified, and I let the words hit me like a ton of bricks. He might not wake up. He might… _might-not-wake-up-might-not-wake-up-might-not-wake-up-oh-god-pleas-please-please-don't-do-this-to-me_…

I could feel the tears coming, but I forced them back. I was not going to accept this. I was _not_. There was _no way_ I would accept this.

I sat up, my muscles screaming, and I managed to yank the covers out from under Hinata and Tenten. Hinata just stood up, having been ready for something like this to happen, and rolled her eyes at me, guessing where this was going. Tenten, obviously _not_ so ready, slid off the bed, and on to the floor.

She yelped, annoyed, as I swung my legs over the bed. I realized I was wearing a hospital gown, and I scowled.

I hate hospitals.

"Hinata, could you get me my clothes? Please?"

She didn't say anything, just turned and looked at Tenten. I blinked at the both of them, and Tenten growled, and tossed a pair of jeans at me, and the stripy blue-green-and-every-other-cold-shade-under-the-sun tee-shirt, the one that she'd borrowed so long ago, at me.

I tried to smile tightly in thanks. My facial muscles didn't seem to be working properly; they wouldn't smile when I wanted them to.

I stripped, taking the hideous hospital gown off then and there, and got into the clothes. I felt a surge of warmth go through me, because they were _my_ clothes, and not someone else's.

"Shoes?" I asked. God, I felt like a baby, totally useless.

Hinata pointed to the door, and I nearly cried in happiness. My black-and-red high tops were sitting there, the laces loose and long.

Unsteadily, I walked over to them, the muscles in my legs pouting at me. Now that I was up, I was quickly regaining control of all my muscles, except for the ones in my face. Those ones seemed to want to defy my wish to try to smile, to reassure my friends.

They didn't want to smile. And to be quite frank, neither did I.

I slipped the black-and-red high tops on my feet, lacing them up all the way. They kept my ankles steady, gave me a grounded sense. It didn't make sense, but right then, considering how fucked up I felt; I was going to take what I could get.

Hinata and Tenten threw their arms around me for a second time, but this time, they didn't let me go. They kept their arms locked around me, and together, the three of us walked out of the room.

The led me down hallway after hallway, but I had stopped paying attention. I didn't care how I _got_ to Sasuke; I just cared that I got there.

And we did get there, eventually.

Hinata pushed the door open, because apparently, I was shaking too badly to do it for myself. I, trembling hand and all, tucked a stray piece of pink hair behind my ear, and mentally prepared myself for the worst.

I was surprised when it wasn't actually that bad. Sasuke's room was almost exactly like mine; it just had one extra feature.

He was hooked up to an IV. I felt my heart constrict.

"Do you want us to leave?" Hinata asked; her voice soft.

"Whatever." I whispered, too stricken to care. I was past caring.

But the both of them left, backed out of the room, closed the door softly as they went out, and left me to walk the tiny bit of space to Sasuke on my own.

I sat down in the chair there, but it seemed like he was so far away from that position. I gently ran my fingers through his bangs, and I was invariably reminded of that time, back at the leech hotel. My heart ached, just thinking about it. Because this time, he might not wake up.

So I thought 'Screw it,' and curled up next to him. He was breathing, soft and slow and calm, and I could hear his heartbeat. It was strong and even.

How could something that seemed so strong be so damn weak?!

"Wake up, you stupid asshole. You said you'd never let me go. If you _die_, it kinda kills it, you know? So please, please, _please_, wake up. For me?" My voice was just a whisper, and I didn't know if he registered it, but he did sort of mumble, so I decided to take it as affirmation that he knew I was there.

I closed my eyes, hid my face in his chest, and tried to stem the flow of hiccupping sobs that were tearing their way out of my chest.

---

A knock on the door roused me out of my calm whatever-you-want-to-call-it. I blinked, but I didn't move. I had no intention of moving, not until Sasuke woke up and told me out loud that he loved me.

And he would.

How I knew this, don't ask me; I just knew that he'd wake up. There was no way someone with a heartbeat as strong as Sasuke's, no way someone with as much to _live_ as Sasuke, could _not_ wake up. It was impossible.

And besides. He promised he wouldn't let me go. I was planning on holding him to that.

The door opened, and in came Tsunade.

She still looked the same as ever, pigtailed blonde hair, tired eyes, big boobs and all. She came and sat down next to me, the picture of a mother who'd just had a much loved child get in a very unwelcome accident.

"Tsunade, is he going to die?" I asked, childish and soft. And I did feel like a child, one who knew nothing of the world, and then whose favorite uncle suddenly had died.

"Unlikely."

I breathed in a sigh of relief. "Is he going to wake up?"

"…" She was silent, and I didn't take it as a good thing. But at the same time, her silence wasn't a _grim_ silence. It was more like a _contemplative_ silence, like she knew something, but wasn't sure how I was going to take it.

"Sakura, what if I told you there was a way to wake him up?"

"I'd tell you to do it."

"No questions asked?"

"None."

She sighed heavily, looking as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders. "Well, there is, in fact, a way that might work."

"So do it." I'm pretty sure my desperation to have him back bled through into my words.

"Sakura, Shizune and I have been working very closely with certain doctors recently, to try to find a way to wake Itachi up. We've finished it, but we're unsure of what the results may be."

I listened carefully. There was a test hidden her words, and I'd be damned if I failed. "Itachi, Sasuke's older brother? Alright, go on."

"The thing is, we've had no one to test it on. Itachi's been in a coma for many, many years, and we think it may fail because of that simple fact."

I nodded slowly. "So, you want to… test it… on Sasuke?"

"Yes."

"What's the catch, Tsunade?"

"What happened to 'no questions asked'?"

"It went down the drain. _What's the catch_?" I asked again, placing as much emphasis on the last sentence as I could.

"It may very well end up killing him."

That shut me right up. I wanted to swear loudly, and kick something (Sasuke, preferably, because, seriously, who knows, maybe the pain will wake him up), but I couldn't, not while Tsunade was there.

"So, what do we do?"

"It's up to you."

I blinked at her, slightly dazed. She was leaving something this important up to _me_? "_What_?! Am I hearing you right?!"

"Yes, Sakura, you are. And yes, I am leaving the decision entirely up to you. There is a chance he may wake up on his own, as you did. But it's a very, very small chance. And while the procedure to wake him up does present some risk, at the very least, it will give him a chance."

I let the knowledge sink into my brain, and I rubbed my forehead. Fuck, what was I supposed to do in a situation like this? Sasuke's life was entirely dependent on my choice.

But Tsunade had said that there was a chance that he might wake up on his own. Of course, she did say that it was a very _small_ chance. And honestly, I wasn't willing to bet my happiness, or Sasuke's _life_ on a spendthrift's chance.

I took a deep breath. "Let's do it."

"Are you sure?" she asked me, her eyes flashing in something like satisfaction.

"Yes." I said without hesitation. This was a choice that needed to be made, and if it ended badly, then I would be able to accept the fact that it was my fault.

Or at least, I hoped I would.

Tsunade sat back, and surveyed me with pride in her eyes. "You've grown up, Sakura."

"I had to."

"I know you did. Now, let's get this procedure going, shall we?"

---

It took us a full two days to get everything ready. There were doctors flying everywhere, back and forth and back and forth, and really, it made me feel dizzy. More then dizzy, it made me feel sick, especially when there were doctors whispering in corners about how this was totally experimental, and how it could all go wrong.

After Tsunade screeched at them, they shut up.

But the whispers still lingered in my mind like poison, made me want to retch and puke up everything I'd eaten in the previous two days.

But of course, I never let myself get that low.

And more then that, there wasn't much I could do. I was going to sit through the procedure, to see if I could learn anything, but really, there wasn't much for me _to_ do.

So Hinata and Tenten took me out, mostly to the arcade and to the shooting range, to get my mind off of things. Of course, Neji and Naruto didn't really like that, but with the glares they got from the other two girls, they didn't push very hard to get their way.

Obviously, Hinata had scared them into submission. Seriously, that girl is too damn scary for her own good.

But eventually, Hinata went off with Naruto, and Tenten and Neji disappeared together, and I was left to simply curl up in Sasuke's room, next to him, my nose buried in his shirt.

And then, when they took him out of his room (I protested this strongly, but a single glare from Tsunade shut me up), and into the room where they'd be doing this procedure, I just curled up in his bed, and buried my nose in his pillow.

God, I felt _so_ pathetic.

I was half-asleep when someone knocked on the door, and Tsunade stuck her head in. I took it that it was time to start the procedure, and that I ought to get up if I wanted to talk to him first.

So I forced myself to get up, and to leave the comfy warm spot that I'd been in for the past half hour. I followed Tsunade out into the hall, and we stood there for a moment, looking at each other.

Then she smiled, and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, and I sighed. At least I always knew she'd be there for me. Just like Anko. Just like Kakashi. Just like Hinata and Naruto, and Neji and Tenten, and, hopefully, just like Sasuke.

"Please god, let him wake up," I whispered to no one in particular, and Tsunade tightened her arm for just a second.

"Come on, Sakura, let's go."

And so we went. Tsunade showed me into the room where they'd be waking him up, and pointed me towards a chair sitting right next to the head of the bed, right next to Sasuke's sleeping face.

I took it, and watched the pre-procedure preparations. Most of those were last minute, with Tsunade screeching angrily at some poor med student who had no idea what he was supposed to be doing.

Sigh. Poor kid. I looked around the room, taking mental notes on what this thing actually was.

It really was like every other infirmary room; same circular shape, same big windows covered by filmy curtains. But these ones, in here, they weren't the white filmy curtains that let in sunlight. These ones were black-out curtains, meant to keep sunlight and life _out_.

I didn't like it at all.

And then there were the _machines_. They were _everywhere_, tall metal boxes covered in dials, and fat-and-short metal boxes that were beeping and wires _more_ then everywhere. It was rather creepy.

And it really reminded me of that day back on the outskirts when Sasuke and I had gone to meet Emma for the first time. As I remembered that poor, sick little boy, I realized that I needed to learn this, so I would be able to save people like him.

Because eventually, even the best hunters age, and they need to give up doing what they love in favour of doing some more practical.

And you never know. This might be exactly what I want to do, despite my deep hatred of creepy, empty hospitals.

Tsunade looked odd, wearing hospital scrubs. It was kind of funny. But she looked up at me, and tilted her head, silent asking for permission. I nodded slowly.

And so it began.

I don't remember half of what happened, because I was too busy watching Sasuke's face. I just know that Tsunade hooked him up to some machine, and started pumping fast, quick jolts of electricity into his body, along with some weird green stuff.

Apparently, the green stuff was the reversed form of the green guck Hinata had sent them. It wasn't a muscle _freezer_, it was a muscle _releaser_.

They worked long into the night, so long that I almost wanted to sleep. There was so much to take in, so much to _see_. But I didn't want to see it. I just wanted to know that Sasuke was going to wake up, because, really, let's face it, that's all I really cared about.

---

Much later, I checked the clock on the wall, the little hands transforming into numbers into my mind. It was about six-thirty in the morning, and I knew the sun would be coming up soon.

And then there was a strange twitching, and I could see Sasuke's eyes flicking back and forth beneath his eyelids.

My breath caught in my throat, and I didn't dare to hope.

But of course I did.

And then, slowly, _so slowly_ it almost pained me, his eyelids flickered open, and I could see his eyes. We just stared at each other, while everyone else in the room started freaking out and celebrating.

But they were suddenly background noise, because Sasuke opened his mouth, and said; his voice rusty "I told you, princess, I told you. I'm not letting you go." His hand found mine, and I leaned down, and very gently pressed my lips to his.

And then someone threw open the black-out curtains, and Sasuke and I both looked up, dazzled, and out at the early-morning sunrise. The sun was turning the sky pink and gold and bright blue as it rose. It was beautiful.

And so we sat there together, and watched the dawning of a new day, our fingers tightly woven together.

---

**((OMIGOD IT'S DONE!!!! *falls out of bed*))**


End file.
